Torreyes provides infield depth
Cubs make trade while considering decisions on Russell, La Stella
The Cubs added middle-infield depth in a small trade Wednesday, but it has less to do with troubled shortstop Addison Russell’s status and more to do with backup infielder Tommy La Stella’s.
The Cubs were in need of infield depth this winter regardless of whether they decide to keep Russell through the rest of a 40-game suspension he received in September under baseball’s domestic-violence policy.
The trade with the Yankees for the versatile Ronald Torreyes for a player to be named later or cash fills that need, but it falls well short of any reasonable insurance against a possible decision to move on from Russell.
The move comes two days ahead of the non-tender deadline Friday, with the Cubs continuing to mull whether to tender the arbitrationeligible Russell a contract and retain his rights for 2019.
Russell, Torreyes and La Stella are among nine arbitration-eligible Cubs subject to the deadline.
Even if the Cubs tender La Stella, who set a franchise record with 24 pinch hits last season, Torreyes looks like a threat for the last backup infield job.
La Stella, a lefty, is the better hitter off the bench, but Torreyes, a right-handed hitter, is a better fielder and far more versatile.
Torreyes, 26, who has played mostly second base in his professional career, played shortstop in 213 games, including 60 in the big leagues (42 starts).
He’s a .281 hitter with a .310 onbase percentage. He batted .292 in a career-high 108 games in 2017, including significant work filling in when injuries sidelined shortstop Didi Gregorius and second baseman Starlin Castro.
Projected by mlbtraderumors. com for a $900,000 arbitration salary, Torreyes also brings the added value of having minor-league options left.
Torreyes, a popular teammate in New York, was a one-time Cubs minor-leaguer acquired from the Reds in 2011 in the Sean Marshall-Travis Wood trade during Theo Epstein’s first two months as Cubs president.
Russell’s status has been in doubt since a yearlong investigation into domestic-violence allegations involving his then-wife resulted in the suspension and mandated participation in an education/counseling program.
He has 28 days left to serve at the start of the 2019 season.
Russell is projected to make about $4.3 million through arbitration (minus the prorated percentage for the month he’s suspended).
“Before he can play another game in a Cubs uniform, we need to know that he’s serious about selfimprovement and has grown to the point where he can represent the club well,” Epstein said at the general manager meetings early this month.
The Cubs have MVP runner-up and Gold Glove finalist Javy Baez capable of handling the everyday job at short at a high level.
NOTE: The Cubs re-signed lefthanded reliever Kyle Ryan to a bigleague deal, filling their final spot on the 40-man roster. He spent the 2018 season pitching at Class AAA Iowa after spending parts of the last four seasons in the majors with the Tigers.