Addison Russell will not be coming up to the Cubs once his 40-game suspension ends this week. Theo Epstein shared the news prior to Tuesday’s game against the Mariners in Seattle.
Russell has been playing in Triple-A with the Iowa Cubs and he will remain there for a while longer. The Cubs will officially option Russell to Triple-A.
The Cubs did not share a specific date for Russell’s return to the majors.
MLB suspended Russell 40 games after the league investigated domestic violence allegations from his ex-wife Melisa Reidy. She detailed the abuse in a blog post last September, breaking her silence after the initial allegations were made public in Instagram comments by her friend in 2017.
Epstein and Joe Maddon have talked about what Russell’s role will be if and when he comes back to the team. On Tuesday, Maddon was on 670 The Score and said they will talk to Javier Báez and listen to his opinion on Russell’s return. Báez has taken over the starting shortstop position since last year and he’s been the Cubs best player since the start of 2018.
Russell will most likely return in a backup role and occasionally give Báez a day off at shortstop.
