On July 29, the Chicago Cubs optioned Tommy La Stella to the Iowa Cubs to make room on the roster for Chris Coghlan. It was a tough move for sure and there was no really good way to handle the situation.

On one hand, they had a guy in Coghlan whom they’d recently traded from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Arismendy Alcantera. In 2014 and 2015, Coghlan played well for the Cubs and Joe Maddon has a lot of confidence in him, even if he hasn’t played well so far this season, slashing just .158/.253/.276 over 229 plate appearances.

On the other hand, there’s the 27 year-old Tommy La Stella. He’s been a solid left-handed bat for the Cubs, slashing .295/.388/.457 over 122 plate appearances. He’s built nicely on his 2015 season and been excelling lately. Most recently, Joe had been using Tommy in the lead-off spot in Dexter Fowler’s stead, where he’s hitting .429/.500/.714. Of course that was only 21 at-bats, but it’s the most recent batting data from Tommy we have to go off of, and it was very good.

Tommy was understandably upset when Joe told him he was being optioned to triple-A Iowa. That happened on July 29, one week ago on Friday.

Normally a player has 72 hours to report after they’ve been optioned. Tommy didn’t show. There was no official word from the Cubs about what was going on but word did get out that the team was allowing Tommy to report later, beyond the traditional 72 hours.

The general consensus seemed to be that he’d join the team when they finished their road trip and landed back in Des Moines. They returned on Wednesday and there’s still no sign of him. And then this.

There’s no sugar coating that report. That sounds bad, really bad and pretty troubling. No one knows exactly what is going on here. I’ve asked around and there is no one, it seems, with a shred of information on what is going on with Tommy.

We hope this isn’t because he’s disappointed about his demotion. The optics suggest as much but I really hope it’s not the case. I really like Tommy and I’ve always thought he had a great approach and attitude, a team attitude.

Right now, this is an extremely fluid situation that could change any moment. Of course, we’ll continue to monitor things and let you know as soon as we find out any more information.

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

Petulant behavior from a fringe player is a good way to get blackballed right out of baseball.

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La Stella could probably start for a bunch of MLB teams though, easily. He isn't really a fringe player...just has the misfortune of being a middle infielder on a team with many really good middle infielders.

I assume the Cubs probably attempted to trade him but might have been asking for too much? Either way...his issue should be more with his union and the CBA than with the Cubs. He isn't doing himself any favors.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Coghlan should not have been kept over LaStella.

Technically the Cubs kept both.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

lastella could hit cleanup for the sox

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

My point being Coghlan should have been released from the major league roster.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

I was out of town for the last week. Has Levine spun this into a "he just loves playing for the Cubs so much" story?

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I wonder what Len's take is on this. Earlier in the year, he couldn't help himself from throwing bouquets at Tommy.

Career OPS of .699, and sent to the minors at age 27. Hell of a ballplayer.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Could the Cubs be blowing smoke and they are just stashing him? Still with the club but not offically until they make another move?

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Elections have consequences.

Agreed Coghlan shouldn't be on the team.

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Or he's in the Steve Clevenger suite waiting to be traded in an August deal.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

Anybody check Beardown's basement?

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"This is Chicago, my friend. Anything can happen."

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

"Now 10 days later, La Stella still hasn’t yet reported to Triple-A, the Des Moines Register’s Tommy Birch reported Sunday. Players typically have 72 hours to report to a new destination in cases like this, but the Cubs extended extra time for La Stella to report, Birch reported.

The 27-year-old La Stella is back home in New Jersey tending to some “family business,” Iowa Cubs manager Marty Pevey told the Register without going into details.

La Stella was a key bat off the bench for the Cubs, hitting .295 with an .846 OPS and making the occasional spot start when matchups dictated it."

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"This is Chicago, my friend. Anything can happen."

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Put on temporarily inactive list. Reportedly doesn't want to play anywhere but Cubs MLB club. Plans to retire if he can't. Planned to retire after last season but came back because he liked his teammates.

Well, if I could spin this into "if you could stick your dick up your ass, you'd never come out of your house", then we'd all be happy story.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

More like Tommy LaCrybaby

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Technically speaking,you would be cumming in your house.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Well played... salut.

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"This is Chicago, my friend. Anything can happen."

As much as this is unprofessional by LaStella (does he have the same agent as Adam LaRoche?), the Cubs will look like monumental fools if LaStella calls the Cubs' bluff and retires, forcing them to go with shitty Coghlan down the stretch.

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I really don't think he's coming back. Whose choice that will be, I don't know.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

There's the story I was waiting for

I'm sure he'd have no interest in playing for the Mets, Yankees, or Phillies close to his home.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

A left handed bat will be have to be acquired then.

You can't go into the post-season with Coghlan as your primary left handed bat off the bench. You just can't.

I don't understand what the big deal is. September call-ups are right around the corner. Deal with it for a month and then you will be back with the team. Everyone knows he can be a better option. This just sucks all around.

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Good for him. Bryant is probably laughing at all of this.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

September call ups not eligible for playoffs, right?

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Elections have consequences.