Source: Addison Russell has been Non-tendered

Sep 25, 2017; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell (27) signals to the dugout after diving in to the stands for a foul ball and landing in a fans nachos during the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: USATSI-353556 ORIG FILE ID: 20170925_sng_ac1_113.JPG

Per Gordon Wittenmyer, the Chicago Cubs have non-tendered infielder Addison Russell.

Russell will now become a free agent, able to sign a deal with any MLB team.

Russell slashes .237/.308/.391 in 2019 and .242/.312/.392 over his career. He once provided incredible defensive ability, but since 2016 his shoulder has seemed to give him more and more throwing issues. In 2019 he was primarily a second baseman with the emergence of Javier Baez, and has become expendable with David Bote and possibly Nico Hoerner on the roster.

In 2019, Theo Epstein and the Chicago Cubs tried a new approach, instead of cutting and run when it comes to players with off-field issues. But, time-and-time again it just didn’t seem like Russell was taking personal accountability for his actions. With a divided fanbase, and Russell not performing while creating a distraction, non-tendering the once highly thought of player was the best possible option for this organization.

Here is Theo’s explanation, via Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic.

1 thought on “Source: Addison Russell has been Non-tendered

Comments are closed.