Joe Maddon, Cubs On Kyle Schwarbers’ Demotion To Minor League

The Chicago Cubs announced on Thursday that they are sending struggling outfielder Kyle Schwarber to Triple-A Iowa of the Pacific Coast League in order to clear his head and give him a fresh start as the team prepares for an 11-game road trip.

Cubs sending Kyle Schwarber to Triple A Iowa To Clear His Head

The 24-year-old slugger — who joined the defending World Series champion Cubs in 2015 after being drafted fourth overall in 2014 — is hitting .171 this season and will be working exclusively with Triple A batting coach Desi Wilson and hitting coordinator Andy Haines to change his technique, according to MLB.com’s Patrick Pinak. 

“He took it really well. We’re doing to hopefully reset him,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “Get him back up here with a fresh start. He was very professional about it. Understood it, entirely.”

The Cubs (37-35, second in NL Central) have won five of their last seven games. They next visit the Miami Marlins on Friday night in the second game of a four-game series.

“It happens almost in every organization,” Maddon continued saying about Schwarber. “It happens to a lot of good players. Then when they come back, things turn out pretty well. So it’s not a matter of us not sticking with him anymore. We just thought this is the best way to go to really get him really well so that we can utilize the best side of Kyle moving forward.”

Schwarber’s teammates also commented on the slugger’s demotion to the Cubs’ minor league affiliate. Most seemed to concur with Maddon’s sentiment that although this decision was difficult for the Cubs, the organization found it necessary to let the outfielder take a break from the majors.

Anthony Rizzo: “It’s tough for our team, because he’s such a good guy. But he’s gonna go down and be able to exhale a little bit as far as being in the limelight all the time and hopefully smooth things out. We’re all confident he will and just do his best down there to get back here and get back to being the Kyle Schwarber we know.”

Kris Bryant praised Schwarber for his attitude.

“Playing every day and you go through these things and slumps, sometimes it seems like they pile on top of each other,” Bryant said. “The biggest thing is to just realize where you are at in life and that there are a lot more problems you could be dealing with. I think he has that great attitude.”

Maddon said there is no exact date set for Schwarber’s return to the majors, although the manager added it likely won’t be very far in the future.

“There is no actual timetable,” Maddon said regarding how long Schwarber will be with Iowa. “I don’t anticipate it to be long. We’ll see how it plays out.”

Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said he believed having Schwarber hit leadoff this year was a bad decision.

“Whether or not that caused him to tailspin I have no way to answer that question,” Hoyer said.

Schwarber hit .412 in the World Series last season with a .500 on-base percentage. He missed all regular season games except three due to a serious knee injury.

The Cubs also announced that they will place outfielder Jason Heyward on the disabled list with a hand injury: he sustained a cut in the second inning of Sunday’s 7-1 road victory over the Pirates when he attempted to make a sliding catch in foul territory. Mark Zagunis from Triple A Iowa will replace Heyward for his first stint in the majors. Right-handed pitcher Dylan Floro will also be rejoining the Cubs.

CHICAGO, IL – MAY 07: Kyle Schwarber #12 of the Chicago Cubs hits a double against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning on May 7, 2017 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)