Addison Russell’s future with the Chicago Cubs is a tentativ

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CHICAGO (AP) — roposition.President of baseball operations Theo Epstein says Russell is getting a “conditional second chance” with the Cubs after he was suspended for 40 games last October for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. Even the slightest misstep likely would mean the end of his time with the team.“We are going to take it one day at a time ,” Epstein said Friday on the first day of the Cubs’ annual fan convention. “If he continues to meet the high standards we’ve laid out for him, put the work in, he will be eligible to return to the Cubs after serving his full suspension.”Russell, who turns 25 on Wednesday, isn’t allowed to attend this weekend’s festivities because of his punishment, but he is expected to be with the team for spring training. The troubled shortstop is eligible to return on May 3 against St. Louis, barring any postponements.Russell was disciplined after his ex-wife Melisa Reidy published a blog post in September describing years of physical and emotional abuse. In November, on the same day the Cubs announced they had offered him a contract for 2019, Russell apologized to Reidy and his family for “my past behavior.”Epstein said the team’s first inclination after Russell was suspended was “just to move on.”“The more we considered all perspectives and all factors , the more we dug in, once we were able to do our own research and investigation after MLB issued its discipline we started to consider some other arguments as well,” Epstein said.“First of all, that this happened on our watch. That Addison’s been in our organization since he was 20 years old. That we were certainly quick to celebrate his triumphs, and that separating ourselves from him as quickly as possible at his lowest point was maybe not a comprehensive solution to the issue.”Russell was once considered one of the top young shortstops in baseball. He was selected by Oakland in the first round of the 2012 draft and traded to Chicago in the July 2014 deal that moved pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to the Athletics.Russell helped the Cubs win the World Series three years ago, batting .238 with 21 homers and 95 RBIs in 151 games.Epstein said the team talked to several domestic violence experts and Reidy before deciding what it wanted to do.“I was engaged with Melisa Russell, the victim, who deserves our support every bit as much if not more than Addison given the circumstances,” Epstein said , “and she was supportive of our decision as long as it was truly a conditional second chance. She felt like this was Addison’s best chance to get his life in order.”The Cubs also are hoping to learn from what happened.“I think we saw it as an opportunity to try to improve the organization when it comes to domestic violence,” Epstein said. “This happened here.“We can do everything we can to try to make this the safest possible workplace, the healthiest possible workplace, so that it has as little chance as possible of ever happening again here.” The young bats were working tonight, and Starlin Castro brought the power."WhiteFanposts Sections News & RumorsAnalysisPodcastsProspects & DraftGame CoverageFull ArchiveMasthead Social Marlins Players on TwitterFish Stripes on InstagramMarlins Media Members Fish Stripes Best of 2018 Marlins StoriesScheduleRosterStatsCommunity Guidelines StubHubarlins complete biggest comeback of the season, beat the Nationals 8-5New,10commentsThe young bats were working tonight, and Starlin Castro brought the power. ByJesse NievesUpdatedSep 18, 2018 ,1:36am EDTShareTweetShareShareMarlins complete biggest comeback of the season, beat the Nationals 8-5Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY SportsThe Marlins won in what was their biggest comeback of the season. Down four runs they would put production into overdrive and score 8. The defense was working and the young bats came together for this win.Trevor Richards did not have the bounce back game we were hoping. He did not last long, pitching only five innings and giving up five runs. Richards also gave up two no doubt home runs to Victor Robles and Anthony Rendon. While there was plenty left to be desired, Richards was tallying up strikeouts. He was able to pull the string twice on Bryce Harper and even struck out Juan Soto. This was not his worst showing but there are clear improvements to be made. Luckily for the Fish their bullpen held it together for the rest of the game, only giving up one run.The offense came alive in yesterdays contest and it was great to see. While more loses mean better draft picks, it is so hard not to root for some solid offense from the Fish. The Fish only racked up 9 hits but they were well timed. The offense started in the fifth inning after already being down 4-0. Austin Dean and Magneuris Sierra started off the inning with walks. Starlin Castro came up and knocked both of them home with a double making it 4-2. The next inning was even better for the Fish. Lewis Brinson, Miguel Rojas and Austin Dean each got back to back to back singles to load up the bases. Sierra was up to bat next and he did what we were all expecting. He smashed a grand slam single to right field, scoring in two more runs. The Fish then scored on a balk to top off the inning. Brinson scored the go ahead run in the seventh inning with the bases loaded. Rojas would then hit a sacrifice fly to score another run making it 7-5 Fish. Castro finished off the offensive night for the Fish with a solo shot in the next inning. He was the man last night with three runs batted in, two hits , and a walk. This one was a solid victory for the Fish.Attendance: 8,440 Please leave any Icthy picks in the comments below. Remember, we introduced a new grand prize for the contest this season.Probable Pitching MatchupNameTeamIPERAFIPK/9fWARNameTeamIPERAFIPK/9fWARCourtesy of FangraphsToday's LineupsNATIONALSMARLINSMatchup Summary:The Marlins will be taking on the Nationals in a quick two game set. The Fish are coming off of a win against the Phillies, which does not happen very often anymore. The Nationals are coming off a three game series against the Braves, in which they won two of the games. Trevor Richards will be on the mound for the Fish tonight. He has been going through a rough patch. In his last three starts he has had over a 4.50 earned run average in each game. They were tough opponents Richards faced, but the Nationals should also put up a fight. Erick Fredde will start for the Nationals. He is coming off a fantastic start against the Phills, in which he pitched 5.2 innings and struck out 9. The Marlins offense has been mixed this past week, so we will see if Richards gets any support. Game Thread Question:Will the Nationals bounce back next season or will they struggle like this season?

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