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Russell victim of Chicago Cubs' September call-ups

The Cubs officially made their first round of September call-ups Tuesday. And there were a couple of veteran casualties that went along with them.

As the team said Monday night, it recalled infielder Javier Baez and left-handed pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada from Class AAA Iowa and selected reliever Trevor Cahill and Quintin Berry from Iowa.

Cahill and Berry were not on the 40-man roster, so the Cubs designated relief pitchers James Russell and Rafael Soriano for assignment.

Soriano was with the Cubs only a brief time, but Russell was with the big club most of the season in his second stint with the Cubs. He originally came up in 2010. This year he was 0-2 with 1 save and a 5.29 ERA.

"That's never easy," manager Joe Maddon said. "I didn't get a chance to talk to Rafael. I will at some point. James, I had him all year. He's the kind of guy you can easily get close to. He's a great teammate, a great competitor. He really helped us a lot in two very difficult situations.

"He was pitching in moments he should not have been pitching in based on his skill level versus that team. He accepted it, did everything right, never complained, never cried, never made an excuse."

Baez, 22, was in Tuesday's starting lineup at second base. At Iowa, he batted .324 with 14 doubles, 2 triples, 13 homers, 61 RBI and 17 stolen bases in 70 games.

He overcame a finger injury, suffered during the season, and endured the death of his sister near the beginning of the season.

"The team's been winning a lot, and hopefully I can help them get some more wins," he said. "I'm seeing the ball really good, and my approach is to right-center.

"Right when I got hurt, I could only swing with one hand, and that's what I was doing was swinging with one hand, and I finally got my swing back. It's been a really tough year for me and my family, plus my injury, I was out for almost two months. That's why it made me really patient."

The Cubs say Baez has eliminated a leg kick at the plate.

"We think he's in a good place," team President Theo Epstein said. "He's earned his way and worked his way into this position to come up and contribute to a winning team where he can."

Baez made his major-league debut last season, when he batted .169 with 9 homers and 95 strikeouts in 213 at-bats. At Iowa, he struck out 76 times in 281 at-bats.

Jackson ready for action:

Outfielder Austin Jackson arrived Tuesday at Wrigley Field, one day after being traded from the Seattle Mariners.

"It's good to come and join it," Jackson said. "They've got a good mix of young guys and veterans. Anytime you get a chance to come to a contending team, that's all you really want."

With the Mariners this year, Jackson had a line of .272/.312/.387 with 8 homers and 38 RBI. He began his career with Detroit in 2010 and appeared in the postseason each year from 2011-13.

Quite the steal:

Quintin Berry has 117 games of major-league experience. He signed a minor league deal with the Cubs on Aug. 24 after spending the entire season with Boston's Class AAA Pawtucket affiliate.

He last appeared in the big leagues in 2014 with Baltimore. In the major leagues, he entered Tuesday 25-for-25 in stolen-base attempts.

"I've been thrown out before, just not up here," he said. "I got thrown out not that long ago in the minor leagues."

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