To say this was not on my radar is one of those once-or-twice-annual understatements. I have been out to dinner with The Wife, and then my phone started blowing up.
So, I’m just gonna drop the info and try to process what the eff is going on: Ian Happ is being sent to AAA to open the season. He is not making the big league team. Yes, he’s had a rough spring and yes, he had an atrocious second half, but still – the upside in that bat and the versatility seemed to make him a lock to be on the roster when the season opened. We just did not see this coming.
Happ, it seems, did not see it coming either, and he’s understandably upset.
Maddon on Happ optioned to Iowa: pic.twitter.com/GXgqZBlDXx
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) March 23, 2019
Maddon said the Cubs don’t have enough at-bats to offer Happ in MLB right now. Want him to get regular work at AAA to focus especially on his left-handed swing. Need more consistency.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) March 23, 2019
Happ apparently quite unhappy w decision. From Maddon: He's not happy & he shouldn't be happy. He was surprised. Asked if he calmed down by end of convo: That's pretty personal, I don't want to share that. He wasn't happy. We didn't want it to be that and we did not expect that
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) March 24, 2019
Joe Maddon said Ian Happ must accept going to the minors and embrace improving his overall game . “ Right now he doesn’t like any of us and I get it “
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) March 23, 2019
Joe said Happ took it hard. They want him to play everyday and get back when he’s ready. Really has struggled from the left side a lot last year and in camp. And that’s his better side.
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) March 23, 2019
It is undoubtedly true that Happ will play more regularly at Iowa than he would with the Cubs, where his playing time in center field and second base were necessarily going to be limited thanks to the presence of Albert Almora, Ben Zobrist, Daniel Descalso, and David Bote. It is also true that heading to AAA, even for a semi-established player, can be a very helpful thing (see Kyle Schwarber a couple years ago). Still. It’s just such a jarring decision.
Apparently it was unanimous, though:
Maddon said it was a unanimous decision within Cubs brass re sending Happ down.
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) March 23, 2019
Hopefully they can get him on board with this in time, and hopefully Happ embraces the situation, destroys AAA in the way he needs to do in order to best translate it to more consistent contact at the big league level. His upside offensively remains really significant thanks to his natural power, excellent discipline, and switch-hitting. You have to balance his long-term development against fielding the best Day One roster, and I understand that. It feels like the Cubs are better with him on the roster, but I do understand the desire to make sure he reaches that next level.
In the meantime, there will be another roster spot available, and it figures to go either Mark Zagunis or Cristhian Adames, at first glance, each of whom has performed quite well this spring and could be a complementary piece early in the season. Adames, unlike Zagunis, is not on the 40-man roster, so he would have to be added. Adames also does not have minor league options remaining, unlike Zagunis.
Much more on this decision, and the fallout from it, soon.