Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein recently said that the organization had no intention to release AAA third baseman Ian Stewart, who was recently suspended by the team after saying some not-so-nice things about his bosses on Twitter.
But “releasing” Stewart isn’t quite the same thing as parting ways under a negotiated separation. And according to Jon Heyman, it sounds like that’s what is going to happen. Heyman, citing sources close to the organization, says the separation is expected within the next few days, and the financial implications aren’t yet known. Stewart is owed a little more than $1 million over the rest of the year.
Stewart’s 10-game suspension was without pay, and was accompanied by an appeal. The best guess on an amicable resolution here? Stewart drops the appeal and the Cubs give him his release. In that way, he gets to move on to another organization without losing his entire contract, and the Cubs get to save the 10-games’ worth of salary (about $100,000).
If Stewart ends up latching on with another team – he’ll get a minor league deal somewhere – and making it up to the bigs, the Cubs could end up saving the pro-rated portion of the Major League minimum salary, too. Given how things have played out, that’s probably the best deal they were going to get.