{"id":511664,"date":"2026-01-12T21:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T21:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/511664\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T21:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T21:04:10","slug":"the-cubs-announced-addison-russell-will-be-at-cubs-convention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/511664\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cubs announced Addison Russell will be at Cubs Convention"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re just four days from Cubs Convention in downtown Chicago and the Cubs have a lot to celebrate. They signed Alex Bregman to a five-year, $175 million deal this weekend and traded for starting pitcher Edward Cabrera a few days before that. It\u2019s also the 10th anniversary of the 2016 Cubs World Series championship team, and the team has announced they will be celebrating that team during the convention<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While no active players on other teams will attend, many former Cubs who are no longer actively in MLB are confirmed. Last weekend the Cubs updated the list of attendees for Cubs Convention, which you can see below:<\/p>\n

There is a lot to celebrate with the 2016 team, and it\u2019s honestly outstanding to see Joe Maddon on this list. I wish this whole post were devoted to celebrating that team and the people on it. Unfortunately, instead we need to discuss the team\u2019s announcement that Addison Russell will return to Cubs Convention.<\/p>\n

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Russell had some huge moments during the 2016 World Series, including a Game 6 grand slam in the third inning that felt like a jolt of electricity throughout Chicago. That\u2019s rarely the first thing anyone remembers when thinking about Russell\u2019s time in Chicago, however, because the Cubs former shortstop was suspended from MLB for 40 games after violating the league\u2019s Domestic Violence, Sexual Abuse and Child Abuse Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I covered that suspension extensively for Bleed Cubbie Blue, but I think these comments from the day after Russell\u2019s return to the team in 2019<\/a> sum up the situation well:<\/p>\n

\n

Addison Russell was suspended from playing for the Chicago Cubs for 40 games last season after his ex-wife Melisa Reidy\u00a0detailed the abuse she suffered<\/a>\u00a0during their marriage. Between September and January she wrote, and\u00a0gave interviews<\/a>, that added a number of details to what was initially a very sketchy social media comment in 2017. She described a marriage that was punctuated with violence, including her husband tackling her to a concrete sidewalk and choking her in front of their son.<\/p>\n

After her interview with\u00a0Expanded Roster<\/a>\u00a0a number of Cubs fans, including many on this site, doubted that Addison Russell would ever play for the Cubs again. However, it became clear over the offseason that the front office\u00a0wasn\u2019t going to cut and run with Russell<\/a>. For better or worse, they were going to attempt a rapprochement.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

You can follow the links for more detail on the circumstances that led to Russell\u2019s suspension, MLB\u2019s decision to suspend him for 40 games<\/a>, and the Cubs\u2019 decision to leave him on the roster<\/a> before ultimately non-tendering him. For my part I\u2019ll just say the 18-month saga of this investigation, suspension and aftermath overshadows every play Russell ever made for the Chicago Cubs.<\/p>\n

Friday night, when the news dropped that Russell would be attending Cubs Convention this year, seven years after he was suspended, it was clear there were a lot of Cubs fans who were similarly disappointed. Below is a sample of comments that were fit to print:<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just social media, this is an excerpt from Michael Cerami\u2019s piece at Bleacher Nation<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Frankly, I\u2019m a little surprised Addison Russell has been invited and is going to attend. So I\u2019m sure many of you are, too.<\/p>\n

I guess you can make your own judgment if you want to see him or not, but I find this to be a poor and misguided decision by the Cubs, even knowing that Russell played 82 more games with the team\u00a0after\u00a0his suspension (so it\u2019s not like this is the first time we\u2019ve seen him in a Cubs uniform since the allegations, apology, and discipline). Whether you care or not, this is going to be a huge distraction and raincloud over what would otherwise be a good-vibes-only reunion.<\/p>\n

Addison Russell was a big part of that 2016 team \u2013 no one is denying that \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean he needs to be celebrated \u2026 or that anyone wants to celebrate him. Again, I am not telling YOU how to feel about this, but I am certain I am not alone in finding this choice to be the wrong one for the event.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Cubs Convention is generally a fan festival to celebrate the Cubs. It\u2019s the only place I\u2019ve ever been where my fandom feels quaint and muted compared to the rest of the attendees. It\u2019s unfortunate that decisions were made regarding Russell\u2019s attendance at Cubs Convention that are sure to complicate that experience for many fans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019re just four days from Cubs Convention in downtown Chicago and the Cubs have a lot to celebrate.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":511665,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[228737,2730,960,20167,14853,1266,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-511664","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-addison-russell","9":"tag-alex-bregman","10":"tag-chicago","11":"tag-cubs","12":"tag-edward-cabrera","13":"tag-mlb","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115884160766753016","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511664\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}