Cubs infielder Addison Russell will soon finish serving the 40-game suspension he received last year under MLB's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. Russell is presently playing for Triple-A Iowa, which he is permitted to do under terms of the suspension, but the Cubs by Friday must decide whether to keep him in the minors or add him to the 25-man roster. According to team president Theo Epstein, the decision has been made:
Cubs to option Addison Russell to Triple-A come Friday, per Theo.
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) April 30, 2019
This decision makes sense on multiple levels. First, the Cubs don't need Russell in Chicago right now. Javier Baez, the team's best player, is more than capable of holding down shortstop (our own Matt Snyder recently wrote that Baez should remain at the position), and with David Bote, Daniel Descalso, and Ben Zobrist on the roster they have plenty of options at second base. Russell is capable of plus fielding in the infield and occasional power from the right side, but he doesn't have much in the way of on-base skills and has shown little skills growth at the plate.
On another, more important level, Russell's return would be a source of much controversy. Russell's suspension stemmed from allegations of abuse from his ex-wife, Melisa Reidy. On Sept. 19 of last year, Reidy detailed the alleged domestic abuse in a post on her personal blog. MLB's subsequent investigation found that Russell had violated league policies to the extent that a suspension was warranted. The Cubs' decision to tender a contract to Russell that past offseason was generally not well received, and Epstein has mentioned on multiple occasions that Russell isn't guaranteed a return to Chicago.
As of this most recent decision, it seems that's still the case.
