When the Cubs first acquired Addison Russell on July 4, 2014, they thought they were getting a cornerstone of their rebuild that would roam the middle of the Wrigley Field infield for years to come. In 2015, he supplanted Starlin Castro at shortstop and, the following year, he hit a grand slam in game 6 of the World Series, helping the Cubs win their first title in 108 years. 3 years later, his time with the team has come to an end, as the Cubs declined to tender him a contract on Monday.
On the field, Russell has failed to take that next step. His OPS+ dropped in both 2017 and 2018, before rebounding slightly this year. He was sent to Triple A this summer after admitting he needed to be “more familiar” with the team’s signs. On top of his diminishing performance, his off the field baggage made keeping him untenable.
Russell missed the first 28 games of 2019 to complete his domestic violence suspension tied to a September 2018 Instagram post by his now ex-wife containing accusations of physical and emotional abuse. After initially denying the accusations, Russell decided to accept the suspension without appeal and agreed to participate in a comprehensive treatment program.
By all accounts, the Cubs should have cut bait last offseason, but they decided to take a chance at recovering any value Russell still had and tendered him a contract for 2019. The same was not true this time around. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein boiled down the decision to a financial one, saying, “We decided to non-tender Addison Russell today simply because the role we expected him to play for the 2020 Cubs was inconsistent with how he would have been treated in the salary arbitration process.”
With the emergence of Javy Baez, there isn’t a pressing need for Russell’s services. Given the bad press the team has weathered over the past few years around Russell and their acquisitions of Aroldis Chapman and Daniel Murphy, it was time to cut bait. To be perfectly honest, this is probably the best move for Russell as well, giving him the opportunity to re-start his career somewhere else, without the scrutiny of the Cub spotlight.
With their Wild Card Series tied at a game apiece, the Cubs will battle against the Padres this afternoon for the rights to move on and face the Brewers in the NLDS. With that in mind, it’s time to take an updated look at the offensive leaders from the now 33 post-season games I have attended since 2000. So, without further ado, we start off with:
