There was a time when Ian Happ looked like the future of the Chicago Cubs "bashers." He broke into the big leagues in 2017 looking like he would be there for quite a while. As it turns out, his stint in the bigs, at least uninterrupted was fairly short. The news broke on Saturday night that the second baseman, who the team has tried to convert to a center fielder was being sent to Iowa to begin the 2019 season.
Since that news broke there has been a range of emotional reactions. That includes from Happ himself, who reportedly did not take the news of the demotion all that well. His manager, Joe Maddon says the young player was quite surprised and quite angry to find out he wouldn't be heading to Texas later this week with the rest of the team.
Chicago Cubs looking for outfield help elsewhere
In the wake of the demotion, the club announced it could be looking for the man to fill Ian Happ's spot on the roster either through trade, or the waiver wire. It sounds as though there is also a chance that Mark Zagunis might be on the cusp of parlaying his good spring with a spot on the 25-man roster.
So far, neither Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, or Joe Maddon have made it clear just what the team's plans are and how they will seal the hole in the roster the demotion creates. The regular season starts on the 28th but for now, there are more players on the roster than they will need, allowing for a spot of mystery right up until the deadline.
Not every Cub is outraged
While Ian Happ might be more than a little bit upset about the recent turn of events, it appears there is at least one teammate who thinks being sent down is going to help the hitter in the long run. Jon Lester, who hasn't exactly set the world on fire himself this spring, thinks the demotion is the best thing to do at the moment.
"I think for him, right now, it’s very hard for him to look at the positives, and I don’t blame him,” Lester said immediately following the team's Saturday night 11-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies.
“The biggest thing for him is - take a couple days, hit the reset button and get back to work.” The club's opening day starter added according to the Chicago Tribune.
Lester added that while he doesn't doubt Happ was upset about the news, he's a good enough kid that he will eventually calm down and learn from what just took place. The bottom line is that the Chicago Cubs need the youngster to calm down and learn some things. If they can get the kind of performance they got from him in 2017, it would be a huge boon. If he continues striking out at the level he did in 2018, he's going to be a non-factor and that's bad news for the roster in 2019.