More from Willson Contreras and Ian Happ on Staying with the Cubs
To put a bow on the emotional part of the Trade Deadline – what did and did not happen with Ian Happ and Willson Contreras, specifically – I wanted to share some of their quotes. What happened last week with the now-superfluous farewell hugs at Wrigley Field has a surprising bookend, and it’s a deadline that saw the other kind of hugs.
You can see more quotes here, here, here, here, and here, among other places, and read more there about the deadline for the Cubs. This is some more of what Contreras and Happ had to say about the deadline trades that weren’t …
Contreras on the Overall Reaction
“I feel like there was a lot of weight off my shoulders. Today was a long day. I was really anxious to see what was gonna happen …. I’m happy. It’s over. I’m looking forward to keep playing baseball, to keep helping this team win, finding a way to make it better and control what I can control.”
Happ on the Overall Reaction
“I wanted to be here. I wanted to be with these guys, wanted to be in this clubhouse still wearing this jersey. The city, the fanbase, team means a lot to me. I’m really happy about that.”
What Contreras Thought Could Happen and Why
“I did assume that I was getting moved even though they didn’t say anything like that. But, it happened years before, so as a human being, you just assume things, and that’s what I did. As a human being I probably made that mistake assuming, but I did it. I’m not gonna take it back. But now I’m really happy to stay here.”
What Happ Thought Could Happen and Why
“Going into it, I knew there was chance. For me, a different situation, obviously, contract-wise and having a year of control and all those things. I didn’t think that I was going to be traded. Definitely two weeks before didn’t think it was going to happen. And then the momentum started to pick up, you guys started to write a bunch of stories and before you know it, you think you’re gone.”
Now What for Contreras
“One thing is for sure, tomorrow is another game that I have to stay focused …. I thought nothing but go out there and play the best I could to help this team to win. Now that this is over, I’m just going to keep my focus on baseball and that’s it.”
Now What for Happ
“Still a lot of work to do for me personally every day. There’s things to tweak, there’s things to learn and there’s things to work on as a team. There’s a lot of guys in this group that are going to be here next year and have a chance to make a huge impact and learn a lot and all those things. You go out there as a team every day trying to compete but trying to learn and get better as a group.”
Contreras on Jed Hoyer
One specific one here at the end, if you were curious:
