Having arrived to join the Iowa Cubs, Addison Russell was set to start at second base today. But then he was a late scratch.
That gets peoples’ ears perked up. But before you go running wild:
Looks like Addison Russell has been a scratch from today's Iowa #Cubs lineup. No longer in it.
— Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) July 28, 2019
Source I checked in with told me there's nothing to read into with Addison Russell being a scratch from today's lineup. #Cubs
— Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) July 28, 2019
Even if Birch hadn’t said that, I would have advised at least some caution before you go straight to any conclusions. There are, of course, any number of non-trade possibilities for a scratch. Injuries happen all the time. Disciplinary scratches happen. Guys missing road signs and getting lost happens.
But, since we know the Cubs would probably very much like to deal Russell right now, we’ll be keeping an eye on pretty much everything involving him over the next few days anyway, including if he gets injured.
UPDATE: Well, this is a funnier explanation that I was expecting:
Addison Russell was scratched from Triple-A Iowa lineup today simply because his equipment has yet to arrive. #Cubs
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 28, 2019