9:59pm: La Stella went on the record with ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers and explained his perspective in a lengthy interview that I’d highly encourage all readers to check out in its entirety. La Stella harbors no ill feelings toward the Cubs for optioning him, stating that he told the team he “completely understand[s]” that it had to make a business decision. Rogers spoke to numerous Cubs players, including Jason Heyward, who offered La Stella nothing but support.
La Stella explains to Rogers that he contemplated retirement this offseason but came back for the 2016 season because of the close bond he shares with his Cubs teammates. He emphasized to Rogers that his decision to head home wasn’t a reaction to being sent down, but rather was made because he has no desire to play anywhere other than with the Cubs. “There wasn’t much more that went into it than ’this is where I want to be,'” said La Stella. “It was as simple as that. It didn’t feel right to me to go be somewhere else just to continue playing. That’s not what my thoughts center around, being a ballplayer and making it happen anyway possible. We all have a right to dictate what we do to some extent.”
Further demonstrating that his decision isn’t a product of trying to leverage his way back into the Major Leagues, La Stella said he’d rather “step away” from baseball entirely than be traded to another club, even if it meant being on a big league roster. He added that conversations with president of baseball operations Theo Epstein have been positive, and Epstein understands where he’s coming from. La Stella still hopes to return to the Cubs.
La Stella’s comments, like recent ones made by Jonathan Lucroy when explaining his decision to veto a trade, serve as a reminder that despite the large salaries and extraordinarily public nature of their employment, there are human elements behind all of the transactions that we, as observers, often take for granted. La Stella cites a history of injuries and other factors that he deems personal in nature as contributing elements to his view of the game and his current situation. Again, MLBTR readers are strongly encouraged to go read all of La Stella’s comments in Rogers’ story linked above in order to add further context to the matter at hand.
5:45pm: La Stella has been placed on the temporarily inactive list in the minors, GM Jed Hoyer told reporters (Twitter link via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune). Beyond that, he adds that La Stella is not presently ill and concedes that his situation has created a need for the organization to seek a left-handed bat.
5:03pm: Infielder Tommy La Stella has yet to report to Triple-A Iowa after being optioned to the minors by the Cubs back on July 29, and manager Joe Maddon appeared on the Spiegel and Goff Show on 670 The Score today to address the issue (transcript with audio link available).
“I’ve texted and talked to him, and we’ve had other folks talk to him also,” said Maddon. “Right now, I don’t have any kind of conclusion for you honestly. He’s working out back near his home in New Jersey. He’s hitting, he’s running, those kinds of things. So we’re just waiting for him to decide exactly what he wants to do. … Pretty much, the ball is literally in Tommy’s court right now. We love having him here. He’s a great teammate. He’s a very good player. Do we want to have him back? Absolutely, but pretty much, it’s his decision that he has to make for himself.”
La Stella was optioned in order to make room for outfielder Chris Coghlan to be activated from the DL and reportedly did not take the news well. The 27-year-old’s frustration with the move is understandable, as he’s been quite productive in 2016, hitting .295/.388/.457 with a pair of homers in 122 plate appearances while playing both second and third base. La Stella, though, had minor league options remaining, whereas Coghlan did not. As such, the Cubs optioned the far more productive hitter — Coghlan owns a woeful .158/.253/.276 slash in 229 plate appearances — due to the fact that Coghlan could not be sent down without first being exposed to waivers.
Players typically have 72 hours to report to the minors after being optioned out, though Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register reported last week that the Cubs gave La Stella some extra time for what a team spokesperson called personal reasons. Based on Maddon’s comments, it’s unclear when or if La Stella will ultimately report, and the skipper acknowledged on the radio that the unusual circumstances have potentially strained the relationship between team and player: “…just doing what he’s doing right now is probably going to create a little bit more strain in the sense of regarding him coming back.”
Regardless of whether or not he plays another game in the Majors this year, La Stella will finish the season with more than two years of big league service time, making him controllable through the 2020 season and arbitration-eligible following the 2017 season (assuming he accrues the necessary service next year). He’s a career .263/.341/.358 hitter in 577 plate appearances.
Kinda surprising news, but not much more so than when the Cubs shockingly sent down a very productive player instead of cutting ties with Coghlan.
Agreed. I was hoping Cogs would be sent away, as we have enough corner Outfielders on the roster as it is. Worst case scenario for LaStella is that he would be back with the big club for September…
That’s gotta suck for a young player. It becomes less merit based but this stuff has to be addressed in the next CBA. I think the inability to option veterans also cuts short veterans careers towards the end.
Yeah, I think that players ought to willingly be able to negotiate themselves more minor league options and such if that’s what they desire. For some guys, giving the organization the ability to demote them without risk of losing them could allow them more opportunities later in the season. if they don’t stick right away. The whole point of running out of options is to give players a chance to find playing time elsewhere… But occasionally it’s a hindrance because it makes a team’s roster less flexible.
Ok, you give the player the ability to negotiate options but I would see that that would be a rare occurrence. Many vets opt do decline the outright when DFA’s and elect free agency in an effort to find another team with an easier path back to the majors. The few players that opt to stay are those who would lose a bunch of money if they elect free agency thereby voiding a decent sized contract. See Jose Tabata. No one ever claimed him when he was with the Pirates because of the contract and he took the assignment to the minors because he would have lost millions had he declined.
I think it’s an interesting dilemma. We all know a team needs depth and you don’t win a WS with 25 players, it takes a full 40 man roster. The problem is that with veteran players you don’t have the option to move them down to AAA if they are not performing (unless they agree to it and I’m not sure if that exposes them to another team or not?).
So that means a team needs 15 players for depth and in order to have flexible players (that can be moved up and down) those extra 15 players needs to be younger players.
A team with a veteran in the minors really has one shot to move them up in a season and if then want them up for say a couple of weeks due to someone’s injury and then they want to move them back down, they can;t without risk of losing them.
I think what this does is hurt the “fringe” veteran from being signed and used as a depth piece as part of those 15 players that go up and down during the season.
I would like to see a better way of doing this, but not sure how to do this and protect veteran players. I’m open to ideas!
27 not exactly young in baseball
Surprising only because the Cubs might be the only team where LaStella was even near the chopping block. But really, the Cubs best long-term decision (at the time) was to send down LaStella and hold on to Coghlan.
Now keep in mind, no one could predict LaStella’s bizarre reaction to the situation. I say bizarre not to insult him, but merely because I don’t think we’ve ever seen a 27-year old bench player outright refuse an option to the minor leagues quite the way LaStella has.
So why Coghlan over LaStella? It’s not because I think Coghlan is a better option than LaStella by any means. It’s just because the best September team the Cubs can put on the field includes LaStella AND Coghlan, and the only way for that to happen was to option LaStella. Coghlan hasn’t had a good season by any stretch, but the fact remains that the Cubs actually found themselves in a position about six weeks ago where they really needed a capable outfielder. I hope that situation doesn’t play itself out again over the final 7 weeks of the season. But if it does, the Cubs could seriously regret not having Coghlan as an option. He provides necessary depth as this team chugs its way toward October.
Now again, I get that LaStella is a better option than Coghlan. Really, I do. In fact, assuming this thing is a non-issue come October, I’d place LaStella on the playoff roster OVER Coghlan. But right now, we’re talking about a month-long situation for a lightly-used platoon option (only 12 at-bats against LHP this year). Even in his busies t month of the season (MAY), LaStella only logged 49 plate appearances. Let’s assume LaStella would’ve logged 49 plate appearances in August, but that now those 49 plate appearances will go to Coghlan. What might happen?
With a .388 OBP, LaStella would project to get on-base 19 times. With a .253 OBP, Coghlan would project to get on-base 12 times. So in a hypothetical world where the 25th guy is used more often than he’s been used all season, the difference between LaStella and Coghlan is 7 outs over a 25-game stretch.
Sorry, but I take those extra 7 outs to hang on to a guy that plays a position where depth is a concern. The depth won’t concern me come October, but given some of the injuries this team has faced in 2016, I’d feel much more comfortable having Coghlan available if needed.
I think you nailed it and explained the situation better than the article itself.
Trash move by the Cubs not DFA’ing the dreadful Coghlan. La Stella should demand a trade.
Read the article.
Agreed. But that’s the thing though….LaStella only wants to be a Chicago Cub, and that’s it. He said it’s either that or he’ll stay at home. His heart isn’t in anything else. Seems like he has a big heart, really
loves the city and his teammates. A loyal man of principle that stands up for something. I can respect that — whether people agree or disagree with his decision, you can’t say he’s a bad guy.
He is a bad guy. I can say it. He is selfish and NOT a team player. His ego has got in the way of his job. Play baseball for the Cubs organization. Chicago or Iowa.
Don’t make this dude a hero.
Send him to Anaheim. We could use a lefty hitting 2B. Or a hitting 2B of any kind
Yeah, the Cubs’ decision to retain Coghlan over La Stella is puzzling.
The decision wasn’t to keep Coghlan over LaStella. It was to keep both instead of just LaStella.
Exactly! Smartest comment on here.
They could end up losing both.
Explain.
Coghlan could be DFA as he’s trash, but will certainly not be retained past this year, and could lose LaStella if he is released or retires to “solve” this issue. Maddon and Hoyer (I think it was Hoyer at least) said somewhere that LaStella will have to report to Iowa to get at bats before he’d be recalled anyways, so he might as well get it over with.
bye – bye TLS. he’s proven to be a me-first-petulant-little boy.
How so?
But La Stella + nothing >>>>>>> La Stella + Coghlan
Exactly
Imprecise wording on my part. I’d rather have La Stella on the major league roster and jettison Coghlan all together.
Agreed. I am with La Stella on this one.
As much as I would like to give La Stella the benefit of the doubt and presume that his personal reasons are serious, he is making things very difficult for himself with the delay and uncertainty.
Keeping Coghlan over La Stella makes no sense, particularly when we have Bryant and Contreras both taking reps out in the outfield. He doesn’t bring any versatility that we need and obviously a worse bat this season.
That said, you don’t get to throw a fit about it as a player either. Talk to your union reps and work to get the team control changed in the next CBA if it bothers you that much, but you report where you are assigned. If not, dump him on the restricted list until he decides that money is kind of nice to receive.
The cubs may know more about the situation than they are letting on and that may be the reason why La Stella was already granted some personal time. It very well may be a quite legitimate reason. If however it is just La Stella refusing to report (no matter how painful) then you are correct that they may end up putting him on the restricted list.
Reporters aren’t stupid and I wouldn’t doubt that one (or more) had noticed that La Stella hadn’t reported and was doing due diligence in asking Maddon about the situation. While Maddon’s quote seems to imply that the main reason La Stella had failed to report was an unwillingness and displeasure with the situation, it didn’t seem to me to specifically say that outright.
Neither are a left handed OF bat. That’s why Cogs stays
This, plus I would imagine there is some thought behind the fact that they gave up a player to reacquire Coghlan.
If this was puig, people would be losing their minds lol
+1
2
omg YES!!!
Sad reality. Puig gets destroyed by fans for being told not to show up to a dodger flight, while people are defending la Stella for being disobedient. That’s what’s wrong about fandom, bias and narratives get in the way of reality
That’s because Puig is an @$$clown. Tommy Is a really good guy.
Even if he is/was, its not fair to rip on him. And why is Puig not a good guy?
Is Maddon playing tennis with him? How does he know the ball is literally in his court?
Yeah I was also wondering why he said literally on that lol
Well honestly he has a point in what he is doing. this is where the business part of baseball sucks cause the better player isn’t staying up. Gotta believe the union might get involved in this one.
I can’t imagine what the Player’s Union could possibly do. Nowhere in the CBA does it say teams are restricted from sending down the better-performing player.
Well if you remember the union did look into Logan Morrison’s demotion a couple of years ago when the Marlins did it.
I can’t see anyone claiming coughlan and if they did oh well. Rather have lestella although he is injury prone
Coghlan: .550 OPS vs RHP, .332 OPS vs LHP
La Stella: .860 OPS vs RHP, .733 OPS vs LHP
Can someone tell managers that they dont “need” to have hitters who hit R or L, they just need to hit, period. La Stella has, Coghlan has not. Half of the Cubs roster has played the OF this year, its not a positional thing at all, especially with Soler back. This stinks to high heaven and was a shoddy move by Theo.
The Cubs have been looking for a LH hitting OF for a while. The simple explanation for the move they made with LaStella is that they wanted to keep both players. LaStella is showing that he is not a team player, but a selfish one. The Cubs simply needed a LH hitting OF more than a utility IF and gave LaStella more latitude than any other team would have. I’m sure that his former teammates would not welcome him back with open arms, as the Cubs’ clubhouse mentality is definitely team oriented.
They could have just stuck LaStella in the of. It’s not like Cogs is some gg of. They wanted to keep both players and LaStella had options.
I don’t agree with their decision. Cogs sucks and I’m not even sure if anyone else would take him. Would much rather have TLS on the bench. With that said, this is not a good look for TLS.
Coghlan is the definition of a replacement level player. Dumb move by the Cubs.
I think they kept Coghlan because he can play in the infield and the outfield, he can play 2B, 3B and corner outfield
LaStella to my knowledge can only play 2B and 3B and reps in the outfield
Jesus Christ. They kept Coghlan because he didn’t have any options left. La Stella did. The just gave up AA for Coghlan so just letting him go seems a little rushed. It was the right move. Everyone knows that if this was the playoff roster it would have been la Stella over cogs all day. But I can understand la Stella being pissed. I would be too. This is what happens when your team has a ton of depth. What’s the sang? First world problems.
1
Please leave the “almighty” out of this discussion but your point is a good one.
We don’t need another versatile player who can play the OF. The Cubs literally have 9 eligible OFers on their 25-man roster right now.
Not for anything, but La Stella is coming across as entitled for a relatively young player. Sure the decision to option him, when he’s better than the player who is occupying the 25th spot on the roster, but who is La Stella to decide what the organization does. You gotta earn some lengthy service time, before you decide how the process works. It’s not a fair move, it may not even be the right move, but La Stella needs to suck it up; be a team player, and do what your told.
LaStella has been productive, and he’s better than Coghlan in every aspect of the game. This being said, his track record is minimal and he’s yet to prove that he can remain healthy for more than a few months at a time, and he’s in no position to be making any kind of demands.
Roster expansion is like 3 weeks away, and if not called up by then, he’s a sure thing to be called up at that time. And if he’s still unhappy, a trade can be explored in the winter.
Nobody has to agree with the decision to send LaStella down in favor of Coghlan, by it’s not our decision and it’s not his. LaStella’s entirely in the wrong here.
Funny thing is this was cogs same problem last year, upset about lack of playing time as the season progressed. Didn’t get sent down but it’s a tad ironic.
I”d be pissed too if I was LaStella but you can’t argue with the rules and if you have options the team has the right to use them. It was a move made to keep both players, and its unfortunate but LaStella needs to accept his “orders” and do his job. He’s a remarkable player who would start on 18 other teams. He’s just on a loaded team, you know he’ll be up in Sept and he should use that month to perform and force his way on the post season roster.
Well said
Veterans should be allowed to be optioned if they are struggling this needs to be seriously looked at in the next cba because having the ability to option veterans could increase how long they play
I’m pretty sure they can be they are just exposed to Waivers. and can refuse assignment
The main problem we are talking about here is service time. Service time is so crucial from a players aspect. A team already controls a player for 4-5 years in the minors which means unless you’re a bonus baby or on the 40 man you make less than 12,000. That’s before having to expose a player to rule 5 if they aren’t on the 40 man. Add on to that the 6 years of team control and three possible options. You could theoretically control a player for 13 years without them making anything. The union won’t budged on that and shouldn’t especially when you consider minor leaguers get paid nothing. It’s a give and take. Owners get cheap labor and control and players rightfully get control over the ability to deny an assignment after that three year mark in the majors.
Suck it up. You have options remaining. Be a pro, go down, and keep hitting. You want to NOT get called back up? Act like this. Management will never set precedent by giving into the demands of one player. He’s not bigger than the team and the team is assembled by management. It doesn’t matter who they selected over him. That’s their right.
Agreed. He’s acting like Chris Diva on the sox, but with less damage to property. Anyways, Tommy Boy’s stats are pretty crappy. Whatever will the cubs do without his 2 home runs and 8 RBI? He needs to be sent down to try and get better. Running home to mommy to sit on her couch drinking PBR helps no one.
What are you even talking about? He has a wRC+ of 128.and an ops of almost 850.
Using hrs and rbis is a very poor way to evaluate a players stats.
I suspect his beef is twofold: 1) Coghlan sucks donkey b**** and he should have been sent out. 2) This move could cost him Super Status. Conclusion, tough s***. LaStella’s behavior is childish and unprofessional.
I’m quick to defend players compared to a lot of fans of a team that defend their organization.
But Tommy man, you are 27 and finally playing productively at this level. Every one has to pay their dues as they go. You’ll only be down for this August if you take the assignment and play. This could be a really bad move for player.
Honestly I think the Cubs are trying to limit his majors time, and he should file a grievance. To be that productive and to be sent down is unacceptable. And I agree with his course of action. He is a Major Leaguer. Demoting him for the soul purpose of keeping an extra outfielder when you literally have 7 on your active list already, is down right insane. Theo needs to rethink what he did here and suck it up and DFA or attempt to option Coghlan. La Stella would be on about every other teams roster in the majors. Shame on the Cubs for this one.
There is no reason he would be sent down for time considerations. Since he isn’t a starter, he won’t be getting much in arbitration. The Cubs sent him down to try and keep everyone that they have. It has become a numbers game. All La Stella has to do is look at Justin Grimm. Do they want to send him down to the I-Cubs, heck no, but he has options and to keep everyone they have to work with what they have.
The Cubs control him through his age 32 season and he’s only a part time player. This isn’t like trying to control service time of a young superstar to get another year before free agency to use as leverage to get an extension signed to lock him up before free agency. Even controlling super two status for La Stella would save the Cubs maybe a couple million dollars. The team is in a pennant chase and has one of the stronger revenue streams in the sport. The move isn’t for money or service time, it’s to keep another left handed bat and out fielder for more positional flexibility down the road in case of injury before the end of the year.
What a diva.
Well this update puts in a big show of character by La Stella, I’m just amazed he would contemplate retiring instead of playing for the team and teammates he loves to play for, really shows him in good light, despite his numbers and the edge that it looked like he was doing this out of spite, it turns out it wasn’t, I hope that La Stella doesn’t retire because he’s honesty a pretty decent ball player.
If I can’t play for the team I want I’m gonna take my ball and go home— see ya we don’t need ya
It’s a two-way street.
The Cubs have a contract and if Tommy ever chooses to come back, he’ll have to do it thru Chicago. But if Tommy is content to walk away he should have the conviction to do so. That is his right. Fans don’t have to like, don’t have to accept it, and don’t even have to understand it. Baseball isn’t the end all be all. There is life without baseball.
George Brett retired not because he couldn’t do it anymore, but because he realized it was no longer fun to come to the ballpark. Maybe Tommy has decided what he wants out of baseball. He’s happy where he’s at with this team and has determined that the alternative is not what he wants and would no longer be worth doing. Change of job or even change of career is not uncommon in the ‘real world’. It seems very few are willing to put their happiness over the pursuit of money in baseball. Look at the countless players who will leave a loyal fan base and a great situation to get every last dollar from the highest bidder. If Tommy is happier choosing another path in life then I wish him well.
As for the Cubs decision to keep Coughlan, I think it was a very poor one by a front office that has generally done a great job. Since the FO had some inclination there might be a problem in optioning Tommy perhaps they should have done some real due dilligence on La Stella vs Coughlan and who was more likely to help this team in October. I think we can all agree on the answer to that question.
I agree with you. I think (no, I know) that people forget these guys are human beings. I know a ton of fans are used to seeing transactions and a ton of guys play fantasy, so they’re used to thinking of these guys as chess pieces that can be moved at will. However, these guys are human. They breathe, eat, sleep, and have emotions just like us.
His heart is with the team…the Cubs. He played his @$$ off and deserves to be here. If he’s in a position to stay at home, I say go for it. If your heart isn’t in it, your heart isn’t in it.
I know, some will pull the “he’s immature…entitled…blah, blah” card. However, he’s an adult, not a slave. If he doesn’t want to be in Iowa, he doesn’t want to be in Iowa.
And his great play justifies his behavior. I know what the Cubs are trying to do — and there is no bigger fan of that front office than I — but the right love was cutting Coghlan loose.
Unfortunately for him, a .157 average just doesn’t cut it in the major leagues. And ESPECIALLY when we have 7 or 8 other guys that can play those positions.
Don’t often see it this early in a player’s career, but it’s always kind of nice / interesting to see a guy say “This is the only place I want to be, and if I can’t be here then I think I’m gonna head on home.” I’m a bit envious of that level of connection to not what you do, but who you do it for / with. Unless he’s just posturing, but I’ll assume he’s being honest until something shows otherwise.
I am not really sure how I feel about this. In a small way La Stella seems very petty and jealous basically saying if I can’t be on the big league team, then I am not going to help you at all. Of course it is his right to stop playing baseball anytime he wants, but this doesn’t feel like a situation where he really wants to leave. He just wants his way and if he doesn’t get it then he is taking his ball and going home. I don;t really buy the whole “I only want to play for the Cubs act.” I bet that if a trade was worked out where he would be a starter or even a platoon starter somewhere else, he would be fine with it.
In another way, the Cubs seem very greedy and short-sighted here. They want to keep both Coghlan (for whatever reason) and La Stella, but only La Stella has options so they have to send him down. This brings up the whole question of service time that I think is the real reason behind La Stella’s discomfort. And if it is the real reason, he has a very good point. By any measure, he has been better than Coghlan and seemingly the only reason the Cubs would have for sending La Stella down now would be to extend their hold over him an additional season. That shouldn’t be allowed to happen.
Another factor here is the whole “super teams” mythology. La Stella is arguably one of the 30 best 2B in the game. Put him on the Angels, A’s, Braves, Brewers, Padres, Royals, and maybe one or two others and he is possibly the starting 2B or at the very least getting a lot of time there. However, he is stuck on the Cubs buried on the depth chart. He say he loves it there, and he probably does. Who wouldn’t love making lots of money and playing for a winner while not having any real pressure on you to perform? But even if he didn’t love it there, he would still be stuck. This type of roster hoarding is not supposed to happen with the Rule 5 draft in place, but it does and players can get held back from their full potential because of it.
If La Stella intends to walk away from the game, it is his choice, but I would consider him a fool. He has a chance to make more money in the next 3-5 years than he would in 15 years (probably more) at another job. I’d take 3-5 years of unhappiness for that, because not many people at happy at their jobs.
Like I said, I don’t really know how I feel because I can see lots of different possibilities here, but when it comes down to it I think La Stella should just suck it up and report to AAA. The Cubs should bring him back shortly, but if they don’t then he can probably be declared a minor league FA at the end of the year.
So let me get this straight – LaStella would rather not play baseball ever again than to play 30 days in the minors ( or less if a cub suffers an injury). He has to know he would be a september call up and most likely even be on the playoff roster. Sounds like either he has something going on that he and the cubs only know ( what that could be i cannot begin to guess) or he is pissed because those 30 days change his super 2 status and his future earnings? I think there is a big pc of the puzzle missing here and as much as I like Tommy he is only hurting himself by not reporting ( unless of course there is a huge unknown personal issue)
If he was going to retire before this season anyway, perhaps he just doesn’t really care all that much about continuing his MLB career. If he cared a lot about his service time/earnings he probably wouldn’t say that he’ll retire if he is traded, as going to another team offer him more playing time to increase the figures he’ll likely receive in arbitration.
All you that are making excuses for La Stella B/c you think Coghlan “Stinks” are part of the “Entitled” problem in this country. Like someone said above, if this was Puig, Bryce Harper, the same ones would’ve roasted them at the stake. La Stella is not Entitled to a roster spot, so he should follow orders just like any other employee. No matter what your personal opinion is of Who is better btween the two, La Stella is 100% wrong and I hope he gets severe punishment for his insubordination
He’s not entitled. He earned it. BIG difference. You should probably learn it. Coghlan has no business being in the major leagues. He was awarded for terrible performance, and you’re sitting there preaching about how someone else is entitled when they actually earned that spot?? Lol. Oh, the irony.
Entitlement also has something to do with the reaction. Even if he did deserve it, play in the minors for 3 weeks, get called up in September and help them win a championship, which is quite possible. More than likely, he’d eventually get playing time over Coglan — and I’m sure there’s a bulk of the players that would support more playing time for him knowing he worked his butt off.
He’s entitled to how he wants to react, but cooler heads prevail. Spend 3 weeks staying loose in Iowa and then come back and possibly get a ring or make some memories.
I don’t make excuses for Tommy, I understand he’s human. He has a right to choose what he wants to do with his life. If he wants to walk away so be it. He’s not giving ultimatums. Nobody in the Cubs organization has suggested he’s attempting some sort of power play. He seems to be at peace with his decision.
He contemplated retirement last year. It seems the injuries and likely the grind may play a part in his decision. I know several minor leaguers who played 6-7 years reaching as high as AAA who then gave up without getting so much as a cup of coffee in the show. It takes a toll. La Stella’s 27+ years old not some kid like Almora whom at 22 and a former first round pick Patrick Mooney tries to compare him to as an apples to apples comparison. It’s not the same. It’s’ not even close and Mooney should know that.
La Stella’s situation is also unlike Puig’s unless the comparison stops at the fact they were both optioned to the minors. Is Puig on record for contemplating retirement in 2015? Is Puig indicating he is willing to retire now? Is the Dodger organization speaking highly of Puig right now as the Cubs are of La Stella? Was La Stella sent to the minors to work on his behavior and habits along with his swing mechanics? Was La Stella sent to the minors for performance reasons? Does anyone have video of La Stella EVER posting videos of his minor league teammates along with himself celebrating losses? Is someone here willing to plead the case for Puig especially after his film making debut in OKC?
I agree that there is often an entitled mentality among pro athletes and it frequently shows up on police blotters. I also agree that as fans we often just see these players as chess pieces and ignore the human element. Most of us would probably love to be in La Stella’s shoes. Pro baseball player with a future in MLB. A chance to make millions. But we haven’t experienced the physical and emotional wear and tear that the sport requires. Probably a decade plus in pursuit of the dream. Everyone eventually comes to that place in time where they think they’re done. La Stella walking away now just doesn’t sync up with most peoples expectation.
There are definitely no videos of LaStella partying with his AAA teammates because, you know, he never bothered to show up. A real team player, that guy.
Seems kinda dumb not to play in AAA Iowa for three more weeks and then get recalled in September with a good chance to play with Cubs in postseason.
Exactly!
Glad we traded him for Vizcaino (I’m sure he’s probably feeling the same).
La Stella, ride it out in AAA and wait to hear what happens come Septemeber. You could do anything you want for the rest of your life. Why not stick it out 6-8 weeks with the Cubs and see what happens. Imagine the possibility of getting called back up and playing in the playoffs. Is paying AAA ball for a few weeks not worth that to you?
Wants to play baseball, doesn’t want to play in the minor leagues, choose one.