(670 The Score) In a surprise, Cubs infielder/outfielder Ian Happ will start the season at Triple-A, manager Joe Maddon revealed Saturday evening.
"He's not happy," Maddon said. "He shouldn't be happy. He was surprised ... I really don't blame him."
Happ, 24, struggled mightily this spring, batting .135 with a .389 OPS in 52 at-bats across 17 games. After a strong rookie season in 2017, Happ regressed last season, hitting .233 with 15 homers, 44 RBIs and a .761 OPS in 142 games.
Happ is a switch-hitter but hit just .202 with a .608 OPS in 117 plate appearances from the left side of the plate in 2018. The Cubs plan to use a platoon at several outfield spots and second base, and they believe Happ needs consistent at-bats to break out of his struggles.
"We just want to make sure he gets down there and gets a lot of consistent at-bats, especially from the left side," Maddon said. "Obviously, we consider him a huge part of our future, but just based on the conclusion of last year and what we're seeing at this point this year, we think it's really important that that would happen that way."
The decision to send Happ to Triple-A was unanimous among the team brass, Maddon said.
"We knew that it'd be a difficult conversation, but having difficult conversations should never dissuade you from making what you perceive to be the right decisions," Maddon said.
Happ was one of seven players trimmed from the Cubs' spring roster Saturday. Chicago also optioned right-hander Dillon Maples, right-hander Alec Mills and catcher Taylor Davis to Triple-A. Two non-roster invitees in infielder Cristhian Adames and outfielder Johnny Field were assigned to minor league camp.
Additionally, the Cubs granted righty reliever Junichi Tazawa his release. He had a strong spring, throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts after coming off a rough 2018 in which he had a 7.07 ERA in 31 appearances split between the Marlins and Angels.
The Cubs have 33 players left in camp, including 20 pitchers. They open the regular season at the Texas Rangers on Thursday.
