Since creating the president of baseball operations position to lure Andrew Friedman away from the Tampa Bay Rays organization, the Los Angeles Dodgers have aggressively added to their front office in effort to gain any competitive edge.
Widely regarded as the “smartest” front office in baseball, Friedman’s group is much more expansive than what former general manager Ned Colletti operated with under previous Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.
Along with a larger front office, the Dodgers on Thursday hired former infielder Juan Castro as the club’s quality assurance coach — a newly-created position for the 2016 season.
The overhauled coaching staff may also include Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux on a part-time basis, according to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe:
Greg Maddux is expected to join a West Coast team — likely the Dodgers — as a part-time special assistant. Maddux said he doesn’t want a full-time coaching career.
With a career that speaks for itself, Maddux spoke fondly of providing aid to pitchers:
“I enjoy working with pitchers,” Greg Maddux said. “If there’s something I can do to help a young guy think about the game more and what he’s throwing and why he’s throwing it, I can help like that.”
Maddux was hired by the Texas Rangers as special assistant to the general manager in November 2011. His responsibilities included working as an instructor for the Major and Minor league pitching staffs, along with visiting the Rangers’ farm affiliates during the regular season
The 49-year-old Maddux held a similar role with the Chicago Cubs during the 2010-11 season. His brother Mike served as the Rangers pitching coach from 2009-15.
Maddux finished 355-227 with a 3.16 ERA, 3.26 FIP and 1.14 WHIP in 23 seasons. He won four straight National League Gold Glove awards from 1992-95, going 75-29 with a 1.98 ERA over that stretch.
In parts of two seasons with the Dodgers (2006, 2008), Maddux was 8-7 with 3.94 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over 19 starts.
