The opportunity to work with older brother Mike Maddux was the biggest factor in luring future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux to Texas for a part-time job as special assistant to the general manager.

The only time the brothers played on the same team was in winter ball two decades ago. Now they'll both wear Rangers uniforms at spring training and work with the Texas pitching staff.

"He asked me if I could come over and help out," Greg Maddux said. "I have an opportunity to work not only with him, but Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan. That’s very attractive. The location works as well. Texas isn't too far from Vegas and spring training is in Arizona. It’s baseball. I love being in the clubhouse and around the players and coaches and the atmosphere and I look forward to helping in any way I can."

Maddux will be working with Rangers pitchers at spring training. He'll help them with the physical and mental side of the pitching, but also fielding and bunting. He's watched the staff from afar and is impressed.

"The first thing I noticed is they are really good," Maddux said. "The arms are tremendous. They’ve got guys in the rotation and bullpen that throw extremely hard. They pitch up as well as anyone in baseball and have good breaking stuff."

Maddux said he wants to help the pitchers understand that "if their pitch selection is good and they control their emotions in the right way, they can have loads of success."

"It would be nice to see them win that one more series," Maddux said.

Maddux wasn't interested in a fulltime job right now. He wants to spend time with his two kids and coach his son Chase's little league team.

"I’ve got a 14-year-old at home that I missed the first 10 years of his life, so I'm trying to catch up," Maddux said. "I want to keep my feet wet in case once he gets a little older, and I want to get back in the game, I’m not sitting on the couch doing nothing."

Maddux said he wants to stay around the clubhouse and be involved in helping players get better. And he added that he's coming to Surprise to learn too. He wants to see how his brother handles the staff and goes about his business on a daily basis.

The chance to work together came about after the Cubs filled their managerial spot earlier this month.

"It never really got the point of him being a manager of the Cubs," Maddux said. "When all of that blew over, he asked me if I had any interest in coming to Texas. I had a chance to play with him for a very short time in winter ball about 20 years ago and I’ve enjoyed talking to him over the years about pitching.

"When we were still playing the game together, we talked about the hitters we were about to face. I liked calling him in the postseason the past couple of years and asking him about certain hitters his pitchers were going to face in the game. It gave him a chance to bounce things off somebody."

One added bonus for Greg: The Rangers play two split-squad games in Las Vegas against the Cubs in spring training (March 17-18). So he might even get a quick trip home right in the middle of March.