The Chicago Cubs employ a slew of players having disappointing seasons -- that explains why the Cubs themselves are in a disappointing spot.
One of the most notable underperformers has been Kyle Schwarber, who entered Thursday hitting .171/.295/.378. As it turns out, Schwarber's line will remain there for at least a little while -- that's because he's being optioned to Triple-A Iowa:
Cubs are sending Kyle Schwarber to Class AAA Iowa. Not expected to be gone long but it is an opportunity to clear his head.
— David Kaplan (@thekapman) June 22, 2017
As you can read, the demotion is being framed as a short-term way for Schwarber to reset mentally -- and perhaps to enjoy some pressure-free success in the minors.
While Schwarber's play has certainly merited a change, you wonder if the Cubs are sending a message to the rest of their clubhouse that it's time to get serious. The Cubs entered Thursday 1.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central. Given that the Cubs are well behind in the Wild Card races -- they have eight more losses than both the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks do -- their clearest path to the postseason is winning the division.
At minimum, the hope here is that Schwarber can get going. His performance in last year's World Series overshadowed the fact that he had missed most of the season due to a knee injury. He's shown before that he's a talented hitter -- albeit one with some platoon issues -- and there's no reason to think he's going to continue to perform this poorly.
We'll find out soon enough if demoting Schwarber is the wake-up call the Cubs (and Schwarber's bat) have needed.
