Tommy La Stella Update: Still Missing in Action, Joe Maddon Speaks (UPDATED)
I really wish I had good news to share about this whole situation but unfortunately I do not. As we reported last Friday, Tommy La Stella continues to be absent from the one place we know he should be – Iowa.
Joe Maddon was interviewed today on the Spiegel and Goff Show on 670 The Score. He made several comments about the La Stella situation and the tone of those comments was not particularly encouraging. There were several quotes that were posted on Twitter, which I’ll embed below, and there was also a good write-up on the interview at CBS Chicago.
To refresh you on the situation, on July 29 the Chicago Cubs optioned Tommy La Stella to the Iowa Cubs to make room on the roster for Chris Coghlan. Tommy did not report and is, based on numerous reports, currently in New Jersey where he continues to work out.
Joe Maddon says Tommy La Stella will have to report to Triple-A “at some point.” He’s at home in New Jersey hitting, workout out now.
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) August 9, 2016
For Joe’s part, he’s doing what any good leader would do. He’s trying to protect his guy from what obviously is a pretty crummy situation that, if we’re being honest here, Tommy has created himself.
Maddon: “We want Tommy back … but again, just doing what he’s doing now, it’s probably going to create more strain in his coming back.”
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) August 9, 2016
It’s not difficult to glean from Joe’s comments that this situation is anything less than a guy who isn’t happy about being optioned to triple-A. We get it, it’s a tough situation and nobody likes feeling like they’ve worked hard for something only to have it taken away due to circumstances completely out of their control.
The most important thing here is that, regardless of what is happening in this situation or why, Joe has one mission – to keep the guys who are in the clubhouse all moving in the same direction and free of distractions. There’s no doubt he is doing a fantastic job of that and I don’t see this having any impact at all on the clubhouse.
If La Stella really has gone awol, that’s something that Theo and Jed will have to handle.
What would you do if you were Theo and Jed?
UPDATE: As quickly as I clicked ‘publish’ on this post, more news has surfaced from GM Jed Hoyer that Tommy La Stella has been placed on the minor league temporarily inactive list. It’s a way for the Cubs to to remove him for Iowa’s active roster, although he stays on the 40-man roster…for now. We will update you as more information becomes available.
Hoyer said La Stella placed on temporarily inactive list in minors. La Stella not ill, but his absence causes Cubs to look for LH bat.
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) August 9, 2016
