“He’s reported to Double-A, and moving on up to Triple-A, and he’ll be back here probably by the first of September”, Maddon said before the Cubs game against Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night.
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“Tommy is doing well, he’ll soon be ready to report to AA”, Maddon said. It’s an unusual situation, in this particular way we thought we handled it the best we could. “There definitely will be some guys that might want to talk to him about it”. No reason was given for La Stella going to Double-A rather than Triple-A, but I have to assume the reason is that the I-Cubs are now on a West Coast swing rather than anything about Des Moines or the I-Cubs coaching staff.
“We know he can hit and I think he’ll probably go down and perform”, Hoyer said.
This is a clubhouse where nearly anything goes, where the Cubs believe nearly any personality can fit in and find a way to contribute, and La Stella does have a specific – if somewhat limited – skill set. Despite the great team success, the offense has missed the unique ability of La Stella to get the bat on the ball from the left side.
La Stella – who hit.295 with an.846 OPS in 122 plate appearances for the Cubs before getting squeezed by the 25-man roster crunch and his minor-league option – got hit by a pitch and played four innings during his first game back with the Smokies.
On Aug. 9, the Cubs placed the 27-year-old on the temporary inactive list.
“The time spent (away) was valuable to him”, general manager Jed Hoyer said.
“He is going to minors, and he has to work his way back. Obviously we’re excited he’s gonna get back and start playing again”. There are no promises. We are confident he will go down and perform well offensively.
Teammates seemed mostly supportive of La Stella and his return to the big league club. Of course, some clearing of the air must take place between La Stella and the 24 other players to explain his absence from the organization.
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As for what might have eventually persuaded La Stella to report, team officials say there was no epiphany moment in any of the conversations with La Stella – only continued dialogue, including ongoing conversations with team psychologist Ken Ravizza, manager Joe Maddon said. “Knowing Tommy, he’s going to be very open about speaking about it in return”.
