Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon has exercised an opt-out clause in his contract and is leaving the team immediately.
"We tried diligently and aggressively to sign Joe to a third contract extension prior to his decision," Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said in a statement. "As of yesterday afternoon, Joe enabled himself to explore opportunities throughout Major League Baseball. He will not be managing the Rays in 2015."
The move comes 10 days after former Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman joined the Dodgers as their president of baseball operations.
Tampa Bay was 77-85 this season -- the first year since 2009 that the Rays did not win 90 games.
Maddon is 781-729 in 11 seasons as a major league manager. He was 754-705 in nine years with Tampa Bay and managed parts of two other seasons with the then-California Angels. He is a two-time American League manager of the year, including in 2008, when the Rays won the A.L. pennant.
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