Cubs send Madrigal to Iowa, hope to get his swing on track
The Cubs sent infielder Nick Madrigal to Triple A Iowa on Thursday to make room for Kyle Hendricks on the roster.
Madrigal is hitting .247 this season in limited action. He started 16 games at third base and 4 at second.
"Just try to get him back on track, really," manager David Ross explained before the game. "He started off swinging the bat pretty good. We've got a lot of guys competing for playing time over there at third base. Just not a lot of room for that skill set right now."
Madrigal figured to be a key piece to the rebuild when the Cubs got him from the White Sox in the Craig Kimbrel trade. At the time, Madrigal was recovering from a torn hamstring that ended his 2021 season, so he probably wasn't completely healthy in 2022. In the meantime, the Cubs signed Dansby Swanson, moved Nico Hoerner to second base and needed a spot in the lineup for Christopher Morel.
Madrigal was the No. 4 overall draft pick out of Oregon State in 2018. He hit .340 for the White Sox in 2020.
"Nobody takes that kind of news well, especially when you've been a big-leaguer," Ross said. "I say not well, I mean they're disappointed. But you lay things out. We talked through playing time, how things shape out; my vision for him and what the future is for him.
"We think Nick is a high-level player and we want to get him back to the best version of him, because that's when we're going to be at our best."
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