Dawson, 28, got cups of coffee at the MLB level in 2021-22. The Ohio State product debuted with three games for the Astros — the club that originally selected him in the second round of the 2016 draft — late in the ’21 season. He returned to the majors for a one-game stint with the Reds last year while the team was dealing with COVID-19 issues.

The left-handed hitter spent the rest of last season with the Reds’ top minor league club in Louisville. He hit .252/.339/.394 with 11 homers and stolen bases apiece. He’d been playing in the independent ranks this year. Dawson was off to a .282/.363/.512 start with 13 longballs in 64 games for the Atlantic League’s Lexington Counter Clocks.

Making the jump to the KBO surely comes with a nice pay bump. If he hits well in this audition, he could play his way into another deal there or in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for 2024. Dawson has scant MLB experience but might put himself back on the big league radar with a strong KBO showing, particularly if he does spend multiple seasons there.

Russell returns to free agency after hitting .286/.339/.400 in 59 games. Yoo notes that he hasn’t played in nearly a month because of a wrist injury. KBO teams are limited to three foreign-born players on the roster, so they typically have a short leash when one of those players is hurt for a notable stretch of time. The former Cub shortstop hasn’t played in the majors since 2019 after serving a 40-game domestic violence suspension the year prior.

This is Russell’s second KBO stint, after previously playing 65 games with the Heroes during the 2020 season.  Russell hit .254/.317/.336 over 271 plate appearances that year, and the Heroes didn’t renew Russell’s contract after the season was up.  Russell has spent the last two seasons posting big numbers with Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League.

Once one of baseball’s top prospects, Russell spent five seasons with the Cubs (2015-19) and was an important part of the team’s 2016 World Series championship club.  However, in 2018, Russell was issued a 40-game suspension under the MLB-MLBPA Join Domestic Violence Policy, in the wake of the league’s investigation into accusations made by Russell’s ex-wife of physical and verbal abuse during their marriage.  The Cubs chose to tender Russell a contract following the 2018 season, but non-tendered the shortstop following the 2019 campaign.

Jokisch’s Major League resume consists of four games and 14 1/3 innings with the Cubs back in 2014, and he also pitched in the minors with the Marlins, Rangers, Diamondbacks, and Athletics over the course of his nine seasons in affiliated baseball.  The southpaw then signed with the Heroes prior to the 2019 season, and has become a staple for the Seoul-based club, posting a 2.72 ERA over 701 2/3 innings and 117 starts for the Heroes over the last four seasons.

Jokisch turns 34 in July, and with such a comfortable niche carved out for himself in the KBO League, it remains to be seen if he’ll ever explore a return to North American baseball.  There was some indication that MLB teams were interested in the lefty during the 2020-21 offseason, but he ended up returning to the Heroes.

NOVEMBER 29: The Korea Baseball Organization’s Kiwoom Heroes will not pursue new contracts with infielder Addison Russell or right-hander Jake Brigham, the team announced (h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO). However, the Heroes are planning to try and re-sign southpaw Eric Jokisch, Kurtz relays.

Russell, 27 in January, is the most well-known of the three. A former top prospect and the Cubs’ starting shortstop during their 2016 World Series season, Russell served a 2018 domestic violence suspension after former wife Melisa Reidy detailed serious allegations of abuse. Between the suspension and dwindling on-field productivity, he didn’t find a particularly robust market upon being non-tendered by Chicago last offseason. The Heroes brought Russell aboard in June, but he mustered an underwhelming .254/.317/.336 line with just two home runs across 271 plate appearances.

Brigham only saw brief big league action with the 2015 Braves but had spent the past four seasons with the Heroes. After posting a 2.96 ERA in 2019, the 32-year-old put up a 3.62 mark this past season. Brigham’s strikeout rate improved to a career-best level in 2020, but his walk rate has gotten progressively higher during each KBO season.

Jokisch was far and away the Heroes’ most productive pitcher last season. He led the team with 159.2 innings of 2.14 ERA ball, winning the league’s ERA title. It’s little surprise the Seoul-based club wants to keep him in the fold, but the 31-year-old has also caught the attention of some MLB teams and could consider a return stateside.

Once a top prospect and promising young big leaguer, Russell is best known now for off-field malfeasance. Russell was suspended under the league’s domestic violence policy after his ex-wife detailed serious allegations of abuse.

The Cubs still gave Russell another shot, keeping him through arbitration in 2019 and bringing him back to the majors after the suspension was served. But Russell was not able to take advantage of the second chance, as he continued to produce middling offensive numbers.

All told, since the start of the 2017 season, Russell carries only a .243/.310/.379 batting line. While he’s a quality defensive performer, that wasn’t enough output to merit another trip through arbitration this past offseason.

Though the Cubs had already absorbed the public relations hit of retaining Russell, other organizations declined to bring him aboard this past winter. He was waiting for an opportunity even while Spring Training neared completion.

The lack of a big league deal may ultimately have helped Russell secure his next chance. Unlike most players of his ability levels, the 26-year-old was not under contract when the Heroes went looking for another foreign player. Russell will have a chance to get his career back on track in the KBO, which is playing at full tile (albeit still sans fans) while MLB tries to get its own season underway.

DECEMBER 5: The Tigers are among the teams interested in free-agent middle infielder Addison Russell, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Russell joined the open market when the Cubs non-tendered him Monday.

There is no denying Russell is a major league-caliber middle infielder, but the significant baggage he comes with likely helped influence the Cubs to move on from him. The 25-year-old Russell sat out the early portion of last season after the league issued him a 40-game suspension for a violation of its domestic violence policy in October 2018. Once Russell came back from that alarming ban, opposing pitchers handled him. The former top prospect managed a weak .237/.308/.391 line with nine home runs across 241 plate appearances.

The Cubs, led by president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, have spoken well of Russell since they moved on from him. Nevertheless, he probably won’t do all that well in free agency, which helps make the rebuilding Tigers a fit for Russell. They don’t figure to spend that much in free agency after a 47-win campaign. General manager Al Avila has indicated that utilityman Niko Goodrum’s the favorite to man short in 2020, but even if that’s true, the Tigers have a clear need at second base. Russell has significant experience at both positions.

This ends a scandalous Cubs tenure for Russell, who came to the team as a possible shortstop of the future in a blockbuster trade with the Athletics in 2014. Russell was an elite prospect at the time, but his production as a Cub never reached that level (even during their World Series-winning campaign in 2016), and a 40-game suspension for domestic violence in 2018-19 marred the tail end of his time in Chicago.

The Cubs stuck with Russell in 2019, when he hit .237/.308/.391 with nine home runs in 241 plate appearances, but with Javier Baez and Nico Hoerner among their top middle infield choices, they’ve decided to go in another direction instead of paying the 25-year-old a projected $5.1MM in his second-last season of arbitration. However, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein offered a positive assessment of Russell upon letting him go, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (via Twitter).

“Since we decided to tender Addison a contract last November, he has lived up to his promise to put in the important self-improvement work necessary off the field and has shown growth as a person, as a partner, as a parent and as a citizen,” said Epstein.

Like Russell, Hultzen’s a former stud prospect whose time in the majors hasn’t gone according to plan. Injuries have been ruinous to the 30-year-old Hultzen, a former first-round pick of the Mariners who didn’t debut in the bigs until this past season. Hultzen totaled just 3 1/3 innings as a member of the Cubs, with whom he didn’t allow a run and put up five strikeouts against two walks. But that wasn’t enough to convince the Cubs, who have moved on from Hultzen.

• Left-hander Cole Hamels has been one of the Cubs’ top starters overall this year, but he – like many of his teammates – hasn’t performed at his usual levels this month. Hamels is scheduled to start Chicago’s game Saturday in St. Louis, which could go down as his last with the Cubs. The soon-to-be 36-year-old is on his way to free agency, though he does seem open to staying where he is. “It was a dream come true,” Hamels told Jordan Bastian of MLB.com of his time with the Cubs. “I love pitching at Wrigley. And to be able to put a Cubs uniform on, this is a tremendous organization and one of the best fan bases you can ever play in front of.” Hamels, whom the Cubs acquired from the Rangers before the 2018 trade deadline, has earned $20MM this year after the club exercised his option last offseason. Although he won’t do that well again on his next deal (not on an annual basis, at least), Hamels has produced enough in 2019 to reel in another solid payday. An oblique injury has helped limit the longtime workhorse to 137 2/3 innings, but he has still turned in a respectable 3.92 ERA/4.22 FIP with 8.83 K/9, 3.66 BB/9 and a 47.5 percent groundball rate.
• Hamels’ fate won’t be officially determined until at least November, whereas an answer on manager Joe Maddon’s future should arrive within a few days. Maddon, also without a contract for next season, said Thursday (via Bastian) he’s “certain” he’ll know by the start of next week whether he’ll remain in the Cubs’ plans. “I’ve got to know by Monday, yeah,” said Maddon, who will be traveling back to his hometown of Hazelton, Pa., by then. Chicago’s fifth-year manager expressed optimism earlier this week that the team will bring him back, but president of baseball operations Theo Epstein hasn’t tipped his hand.
• Unlike Hamels and Maddon, middle infielder Addison Russell is under the Cubs’ control for next season. That doesn’t mean he’ll stay with the franchise, though. To the chagrin of many observers, the Cubs stuck with Russell this year after a domestic violence suspension, bringing him back for $3.4MM in his third-last season of arbitration eligibility. However, the weak .226/.300/.385 line Russell has posted in 234 plate appearances in 2019 could help make him an offseason non-tender candidate. Asked if he’d welcome a change of scenery, Russell offered (via Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times): “You could look at this a lot of different ways. The grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side.”

Rizzo, who hasn’t played since Sept. 15, is back from an ankle sprain that initially limited him to a walking boot. The fact that he’s back this soon is an enormous boon for the Cubs, who will fall a half-game behind the Brewers for the wild card if Milwaukee hangs on to the late-game lead it boasts over the Padres as of this writing.

Overtaking the Brew Crew (or the Cardinals, who lead the Cubs by three games) obviously would have been all the more difficult without the accomplished Rizzo, who has posted yet another impressive campaign in 2019. The 30-year-old has slashed .289/.404/.516 with 26 home runs in 592 plate appearances. The Cubs used catchers Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini at first base during Rizzo’s absence, but they’re now back to full strength at the position as the regular season nears a conclusion.

Russell hasn’t played since Sept. 8, and injuries to him and standout shortstop Javier Baez led the Cubs to promote high-end prospect Nico Hoerner from the minors. The 22-year-old Hoerner has more than held his own since his debut, and he – not Russell – will man short on Thursday as a result. Russell, 25, was amid yet another subpar season at the plate before his IL placement, and between that and his off-field issues, his Cubs tenure may be winding down.

As Wittenmyer explains, this outwardly innocuous move makes for a complicated situation from a variety of perspectives. It’s even possible that it could ultimately lead to a grievance, he suggests, though it’s not clear whether that has specifically been contemplated.

With rosters expanded in September, the use of the injured list changes significantly. The 60-day IL remains relevant because it allows teams to open a 40-man roster spot. But the only real reason to use the 10-day or 7-day concussion lists is to make a recently optioned player eligible for an earlier recall.

In this case, the Cubs have nothing to gain beyond avoiding Russell’s next roster bonus. His arbitration contract includes a $4.3MM salary and $100K bonuses at 30, 60, 90, and 120 days on the active roster (plus $200K for 150, which he cannot meet).

The club issued an explanation centered upon respect for the concussion protocol. But as Wittenmyer explains, that wouldn’t seem to mandate this official roster move. While this brand of penny pinching at the expense of an employee isn’t generally justifiable, this contract was negotiated under unusual circumstances. Russell served the bulk of a 40-game suspension for violating the league’s domestic violence policy at the start of the 2019 campaign.

There isn’t any indication at this point of tension between team and player. But it’s tempting to wonder whether this hints at things to come. Even if Russell returns to action late this year and/or in the postseason, which remains to be seen, the Chicago organization could well be preparing to part ways at season’s end.

The Cubs already made the widely questioned decision to hang onto Russell despite the shameful circumstances of his suspension. He has been a significant part of this year’s team, spending time on optional assignment but also appearing in 76 MLB games. The Cubs control Russell’s rights for two more seasons and likely wouldn’t owe him a huge raise on his existing base salary. But he has not overcome his offensive struggles, turning in a .227/.303/.389 batting line in 229 plate appearances, so it’s amply possible that the club will simply determine that it’s time to move on from a pure baseball perspective.

• More unwelcome news for the Cubs, who are in real danger of missing the postseason: They won’t get closer Craig Kimbrel back from the injured list for “at least” another week, Scott Miller of Bleacher Report tweets. The club has been without Kimbrel since Sept. 1 because of right elbow inflammation. Meanwhile, the Cubs will evaluate shortstop Addison Russell when they return home Friday, Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com relays. Russell has been dealing with concussion-like symptoms since last weekend.
• Braves outfielder Ender Inciarte likely won’t return until the last week of September, David O’Brien of The Athletic suggests. Inciarte has been on the shelf since mid-August with a hamstring strain. It’s the second long-term injury of the year for Inciarte, who previously missed two months with a back issue. Inciarte had been amid a hot streak when he suffered his current ailment, as his OPS skyrocketed from .605 to .740 in the month between his IL stints. He and the soon-to-return Nick Markakis could act as a pair of important outfield reinforcements for the Braves as they gear up for the postseason.
• Rockies left-hander Tyler Anderson underwent season-ending left knee surgery back on June 11, but he still won’t be at full strength at the beginning of next year, per manager Bud Black (via Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). The hope is that Anderson will come back “within the first couple of months” of 2020, Black said. The 29-year-old Anderson’s procedure wrapped up a nightmarish campaign for a hurler who was a respectable member of the Rockies’ rotation from 2016-18. He yielded 27 earned runs on 33 hits, including eight homers, in 20 2/3 innings this season.
• Mariners outfielder Jake Fraley will miss the remainder of the season because of sprained ligaments in his right thumb, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports. Fraley got his first taste of major league action in recent weeks, though he struggled to a .150/.171/.200 line with no home runs in a span of 41 trips to the plate. The 24-year-old offseason acquisition was far better in the minors, though, as he slashed a combined .298/.365/.545 with 19 long balls in 427 plate appearances between the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

Russell remained on the ground for several minutes after sustaining a fastball to the face. He was tended to by members of the training staff, though he ultimately remained in the game. Immediately after taking first base, he stole second and would later come around to score. However, when the Cubs took the field in the bottom half of the inning, Russell was replaced defensively.

The incident could hardly come at a worse time for the Cubs, who just yesterday received news that Javier Baez could miss the remainder of the season after suffering a hairline fracture in his thumb. Russell, the Cubs’ best shortstop option behind Baez, was set to take over for the injured Cubs star; however, the Cubs may well find themselves down another infield piece should Russell’s injury require a sustained absence.

While Russell is far from the offensive powerhouse that Baez is, he at least represents a capable backup and a defensive difference-maker at the shortstop position. However, if Russell misses time, Chicago will have to dig even deeper for a replacement shortstop. David Bote, who took over for Russell in today’s game, is perhaps the best choice; he’s played sparingly at the position in his two years of big-league experience, though he’s far from a traditional shortstop. Otherwise, it might be too much to ask one of Tony Kemp, Ian Happ, and Robel Garcia to try their hand at the position—all three have experience at the keystone but have never suited up at shortstop.

It’s good news for the Chicago organization that Kintzler is already prepared to return from a pectoral injury. He looked like a financial weight around the team’s neck heading into the offseason, but has turned out to be a key steadying presence in the relief corps. He has thrown 46 1/3 innings of 2.33 ERA ball this year.

Russell is back after struggling in his return to the majors earlier this year. Since his demotion, Russell has been on a bit of a hot streak, even by the standards of the contemporary offensive haven of Triple-A. In 63 plate appearances over 15 games, he’s slashing .333/.413/.647.

Meanwhile, the decision to drop Almora comes after a long run of offensive difficulty. He’s slashing just .243/.275/.396 this year. His glovework has trended down as well, at least in the eyes of UZR and DRS, leaving him as a sub-replacement-level overall performer on the season. Almora has already crossed the line to 3+ years of MLB service, so he’ll be eligible for arbitration at season’s end. He’ll need to get to work on his offensive game if he’s to regain his standing with the organization.

Russell, 25, began the season on the restricted list while he served out a 40-game suspension under the league’s domestic abuse policy. His return to the lineup has been underwhelming — not surprising for a player who has never posted a league-average offensive season by measure of OPS+ or wRC+ — as he’s posted a .247/.329/.404 line in 158 plate appearances. Much of Russell’s career-high 10.7 percent walk rate has been a function of batting seventh or eighth in front of the pitcher.

In recent weeks, Russell has begun to cede time at second base and in the lineup to rookie Robel Garcia, who now stands to receive additional starts at the keystone. Russell’s demotion could also open up some time for David Bote at second base, although he’s been used exclusively at third base since late June. Still, he’ll be a depth option there and perhaps at shortstop as well, given that Russell had been the primary fallback option should Javier Baez ever need to come out of a game.

The Cubs have been tied to Eric Sogard on the rumor mill recently, and it stands to reason that they’re also exploring the possibility of adding another cost-efficient option at second base while waiting to see whether Ben Zobrist returns to the lineup in 2019. Speculatively, that could include players such as Jonathan Villar, Tim Beckham, Adeiny Hechavarria or Neil Walker, though a move isn’t a foregone conclusion.

Clearly, the demotion only further calls into question Russell’s future with the club. That’s been the case since the time of his suspension, although the Cubs chose to stand by Russell, with president of baseball operations Theo Epstein speaking of second chances and supporting Russell in “stabilizing his life” and “growing.” That said, Epstein was also candid that the club would be prepared to move on from Russell if need be. His lackluster performance at the plate, recent defensive miscues — he dropped a pair of pop-ups over the weekend — and recent, eye-opening acknowledgment that he “need[s] to become more familiar with the signs” (via Rogers) in the wake of a baserunning gaffe certainly don’t paint a favorable outlook.

3:20pm: Russell is in tonight’s lineup, playing second base and batting eighth, the team announced. Zobrist has been placed on the restricted list after being granted a leave of absence to deal with a personal matter, per the club.

Chicago also announced that right-hander Pedro Strop has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a hamstring strain, with lefty Mike Montgomery coming off the injured list in his place.

2:34pm: The Cubs have decided to activate shortstop Addison Russell for tonight’s game, according to David Kaplan of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter links). He will see his first game action since last September.

It seems that the timing of the decision was driven by the potential unavailability of Ben Zobrist and Daniel Descalso. The former missed yesterday’s game with an undisclosed personal matter while the latter has been nursing an ankle injury.

Russell recently finished a 40-game suspension issued under the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. His former wife has alleged a variety of abusive actions during their marriage.

The Cubs initially optioned Russell to Triple-A, though his stay proved short. A lifetime .242/.313/.392 hitter through nearly two thousand MLB plate appearances, he carries a .222/.357/.467 batting line in 56 PA this year at the highest level of the minors.

Russell is five days away from passing into the 4+ MLB service class. Assuming he stays up, he’ll be eligible for arbitration twice more before qualifying for free agency.

April 30: The Cubs will option infielder Addison Russell to Triple-A Iowa when he is activated from the restricted list Thursday, the team revealed to reporters (Twitter link via Gordon Wittenymyer of the Chicago Sun-Times). He’s yet to play in the Majors in 2019 due to a 40-game suspension under the league’s domestic violence policy (which was issued back in September).

Russell will split time between shortstop and second base in Iowa, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). He’s previously served as Chicago’s primary shortstop in large part because of his defensive abilities — Russell has just a career .242/.313/.392 line at the plate and tallied a career-low five homers in 2018 — but Javier Baez has thrived both offensively and defensively in that spot this season. Offseason signee Daniel Descalso has seen the lion’s share of playing time at second base so far in 2019 and posted an overall .268/.358/.380 in 81 trips to the plate. David Bote and Ben Zobrist, too, have chipped in at second base in the season’s early stages, though Zobrist has yet to replicate last year’s production.

The 25-year-old Russell won’t accrue service time on his optional assignment, of course, and it’s not clear when he’ll return to the Majors. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein suggested that the time in Triple-A will serve as a means of allowing Russell to get up to speed after the early downtime, which could point to several weeks in the minors for Russell. He’s already played six games with Iowa, as league policy allows players to begin an unpaid minor league assignment toward the end of their suspensions.

One would imagine that once the organization decides to bring Russell back to the MLB level, he could supplant outfielder Mark Zagunis on the active roster, though the overall health of the roster at that point will obviously dictate the corresponding move to facilitate Russell’s return.