Russell returns to Chicago Cubs, plays second base
bmiles@dailyherald.com
Baseball needs and personal situations intersected once again at the intersection of Clark and Addison Streets on Wednesday.
The Chicago Cubs brought their wayward infielder, Addison Russell, back to the ballclub, recalling him from Class AAA Iowa as they granted infielder-outfielder Ben Zobrist a leave of absence to deal with a personal matter.
In an ideal world for the Cubs, they would have waited until next Tuesday to bring Russell back, when the team will be in Cincinnati.
But Zobrist's personal needs forced the Cubs' hand early, and they seemed ready to deal with any negative fallout they might receive at Wrigley Field.
Russell, 25, recently finished serving his 40-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's policy on domestic violence following allegations from his former wife about physical and mental abuse. The Cubs optioned him to Class AAA Iowa last week to get him into game shape. They immediately put him into Wednesday night's starting lineup against the Miami Marlins, batting him eighth and playing him at second base.
Although Russell has regained his roster spot, he has lost his job at shortstop to Javier Baez, who is playing the position and batting at an all-star level.
There were some loud boos along with cheers when Russell came to bat for the first time, in the bottom of the third inning.
Earlier, Cubs president Theo Epstein met the media for 25 minutes and emphasized several points:
• Russell is receiving a "conditional second chance" as he undergoes therapy.
• There was never a "rubber-stamp" decision to put Russell back on the 25-man major-league roster.
• The reinstatement of Russell is "not a finish line" and that the majority of Russell's work in rehabilitation "is ahead of him."
Russell took questions from the media as he sat in the Cubs' dugout after batting practice.
"I've just improved - better relationships, better communication with my teammates and family," he said. "Overall, I feel like I'm a better person. Hearing from my family and friends and also teammates that I have improved as well is a lot of assurance for me and just continuing my therapy as well, I know I'm making great strides.
"It's a long road ahead, and there is no finish line, but I'm committed to this."
Epstein said he has been close to the process and has heard from people in Russell's life, including his former wife, Melisa Reidy.
"Testimonials from people in Addison's life who have been affected by his inappropriate behavior before are now talking about his growth," Epstein said, "His improved communication skills, coping skills, his increased engagement as a father, as a co-parent, to me that's really significant and shows that there's been some progress to this point, and it's significant. He wouldn't be here had there not been progress."
Manager Joe Maddon, the only big-league manager Russell has had since 2015, said he spoke with the player upon his return.
"He came into my office; I gave him a big hug," Maddon said. "I told him congratulations on working his way back here. Told him what was going to go on regarding how he's going to play, second base primarily and then we'll work him in at shortstop.
"I assured him that if he needs anything, please walk into my office and ask. And, of course, I'll keep an eye on things myself. We know, he knows, there's still a lot of work ahead of us right now, but he has to feel our support also.
"I gave that to him and he seems to be at ease. He seems to be ready to do this and so it's time to move on with it."
Russell said he understood if there were people who think he doesn't deserve this second chance.
"I'm here," he said. "I know that they're going to think and say whatever they want to say, and they're entitled to that, and I respect them for that."