Sounds very quick to me,like he knew?
Pretty straightforward deal I think.....
Maddon had an opt out so I am thinking his agent made a few phone calls while Joe went fishing or something. When Joe came back agent said 'Cubs for $xmm and Joe told the Rays good bye. World Series ends and viola! Joe has a new job.
I'd guess more money for Joe, big wallet for the club and deep farm system. So it is the Rays job 10 years ago with better infrastructure.
Here's the thing...if Epstein and Maddon actually do the truly impossible and win a World Series with the Cubs...is Epstein not the greatest GM in history by presiding over the end of the Red Sox AND Cub curses?
Epstein excels at developing young players and assessing the remaining value of veterans. What he needs to prove is he can assess and assign a proper value to free agents. His high end free agent record is not good He also got played by Cashman a couple of times and signed players for more than necessary.
But yes, on the surface winning with the Red Sox and Cubs would obscure the details and bring him a lot of adulation. Signing Lester and/or Scherzer and havng them succeed on the path to a championship would obscure the past free agent history.