La Stella taking this demotion better
CINCINNATI— The Cubs are expected to option infielder Tommy La Stella to the minors Saturday when he returns from bereavement leave.
That leaves plenty of time to start an office pool on how long it will take Le Stella to report to Class AAA Iowa.
The smart money this time might be on, roughly, immediately. La Stella, who went AWOL for three weeks last summer when he was sent out because of a roster crunch, already has talked with Cubs officials about the details of this move. Indications are the lefty bench hitter will be in Round Rock, Texas, for the Iowa Cubs’ game Saturday.
La Stella has been on bereavement leave sinceMonday after the death of his grandmother. Reliever Carl Edwards Jr., who returnedMonday from bereavement leave ( also a death in the family), took his roster spot.
Because left- hander Brian Duensing was activated from the disabled list as the corresponding move when Edwards left, Edwards’ return created an eightman bullpen— which the Cubs want to keep intact as manager JoeMaddon continues to work through some recent issues closing out games.
Backup outfielder Matt Szczur would have been the other feasible alternative to La Stella for making roster room this weekend, but Szczur is out of minor- league options. The Cubs would have needed to trade him or waive him, with at least half the teams in baseball likely to put in a waiver claim for him.
Jersey boy
College player of the year in 2013, minor- league player of the year in 2014, National League Rookie of the Year in 2015 and NL MVP in 2016. Where does Kris Bryant go from there in 2017?
Now we know. Bryant has the top- selling jersey in baseball, according to just- released rankings from Major League Baseball and the players’ association, taking over the top spot from retired Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz.
“I bought a lot of my own jerseys,” Bryant joked Friday.
“It’s awesome. It blows my mind that I can drive downMichigan [ Avenue] and see people wearing my jersey. I don’t know if I really kind of grasp it yet. It’s just— it’s cool.”
Barely five months after the Cubs’ historic championship, four of the top five hottestselling jerseys belong to Cubs, including Anthony Rizzo ( second), Javy Baez ( fourth) and Kyle Schwarber ( fifth). The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw is No. 3.
“It kind of seems like being in the right spot at the right time,” Bryant said. “We’ve got a big following now, and with that comes a big responsibility. And I think all of us who are on that list . . . we embrace just who we are as a team, and we’re proud to be Cubs.”
Zobrist down
Veteran Ben Zobrist was available only for emergency duty Friday because of a sore back that has bothered him recently, Maddon said.
With rain in the forecast Saturday, Maddon hoped to give Zobrist another day off. He said the Cubs aren’t considering putting Zobrist on the disabled list at this point.