Cubs Reveal 3 In-House Candidates to Replace Joe Maddon as Manager

The Chicago Cubs have a lot of work to do in the impending offseason in terms of tweaking their roster, but first the club's braintrust will need to address the vacant managerial position left in the wake of Joe Maddon's departure.

Despite the team's mundane finish to the 2019 campaign, the opening should be one of, if not the, most alluring contingency of all the organizations presently without a skipper.

The rumors surrounding a potential replacement have been prevalent in recent days, and we have more names to add to the mix. Per ESPN's Jesse Rogers, the Cubbies have deemed David Ross, Mark Loretta, and Will Venable all as potential internal candidates for the position.

Well, this certainly makes things more interesting.

Its hard to label a favorite of the bunch as they are all markedly respected individuals around the MLB. More importantly, they all have significant ties to the franchise.

Ross, of course, played for Chicago from 2015 to 2016 and served as a special assistant to baseball operations after he retired in 2017. He's quite simply adored by the Windy City.

Prior to becoming a bench coach in 2019, Venable, a former longtime San Diego Padre, manned the position of Theo Epstein's special assistant. It would be quite the leap for Venable, who only retired a few years ago, to so quickly transcend to a managerial role.

Finally, Loretta received glowing reviews while serving as the Cubs' bench coach this past season. He spent nearly two decades in the big leagues and is labeled as one of the few former players with the pedigree to become a manager.

We expect the rumors will continue materializing in the coming days and, at this time, there's just no way to name a favorite. Stay tuned for updates on any potential progress, folks.