Texas Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux's contract ends Friday and his status beyond that is uncertain.

Maddux has termed his conversations with new manager Jeff Banister as positive and is hopeful for a return.

"Jeff and I have had positive talks," Maddux said briefly.

The Rangers need Maddux because of the issues with the pitching staff. You have to ignore the 4.49 team ERA from 2014. Four pitchers were on the 60-day disabled list and the team lost Derek Holland for the first four months of the year. Yu Darvish was also out for nearly the last two months due to health issues.

This pitching staff was a mess.

Martin Perez, a promising starter, won't be around until next summer as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Matt Harrison, a workhorse starter, won't start throwing again until the start of 2015. GM Jon Daniels will most likely sign a free-agent starter or two this winter.

Maddux's stature with the organization is vital right now because he worked with so many of the young pitchers the Rangers ran through Arlington over the summer.

Maddux developed young starters, such as Nick Martinez and Miles Mikolas, and will get a better look at possible starters, including Luke Jackson and Chi Chi Rodriguez, in spring training.

There are two teams, Tampa Bay and Minnesota, that need managers and maybe Maddux gets a look at one of those jobs or maybe the new man in charge will want to interview him about becoming a pitching coach.

We assume Maddux likes it around here with the Rangers. And with it being so hard to get quality pitching coaches, holding onto Maddux seems likely.