Addison Russell hasn't had the season most fans and experts predicted (lol guaranteed 20 HRs, oops) and as of now the Chicago Cubs don't really know when he'll be back on the field. The young shortstop was placed on the disabled list on Aug. 4, with a foot strain and the update on Russell's status was anything but positive on Monday.
Joe Maddon addressed the media and his comments sounded as pessimistic as it can get.
The DL stint was retroactive to Aug. 2, giving Russell the chance to come back sooner, but Cubs GM Jed Hoyer said the infielder is going to need even more time even when he is healthy enough to return. Foot injuries always suck and can nag a player even after they feel better, but seeing "planter fasciitis" makes Russell's injury more worrisome.
Russell was out at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, testing his right foot.
You can say whatever you want about Russell's offense and yes that's been disappointing, but there's no debate who the best shortstop on the team is. It's Russell and his absence has hurt the Cubs. See, it's not that Javier Baez isn't all right filling in, he's OK, it's that without Russell the infield defense suffers overall. We've seen Baez make errors during the last week that Russell usually doesn't at shortstop and the domino effect rolls over to second base. Baez is the best second baseman on the team and obviously the defense goes down when he has to move over to shortstop. We saw it on Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning, when Jose Quintana got Joe Votto to hit into an easy double play, but Baez's throw was off from second base. It didn't end up costing the Cubs, but these mistakes have happened more frequently with Russell on the DL. Of course, Baez does have his moments of greatness, so it's not all negative.
So, hopefully the great plays outweigh the mistakes until Russell returns. And hey, that power is still great too.
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