Long Time Coming

As if yesterday's 10-2 drubbing at the hands of the rival Cincinnati Reds wasn't painful enough, the Cubs lost two of their marquee names, for at least the next few days, due to an outfield collision.  Jason Heyward and Kris Bryant crashed into each other while tracking a fly ball and the latter was taken out of the game as a precaution.  There were concerns about a concussion for the Cubs' MVP; although, preliminary examinations have cleared him to travel with the team.  Meanwhile, Heyward has apparently suffered from some nasty bruising and hurt his hip, as both men have been held out of the lineup for this afternoon's series-opener in Houston.  As of yet, neither player has been added to the Injured List and fingers crossed that neither injury is bad enough to require such a stint.

Regardless, with both Bryant and Heyward not playing, a roster move needed to be made to fully fill out the line-up card.  Luckily, the Cubs had a glut of middle relievers and an open 40-man roster spot; thus, such a switch didn't require much finagling.  As such, longtime Cubs farmhand, Jim Adduci, has been called up from AAA to take LOOGY Tim Collins' spot on the roster:

Adduci has been with the Iowa Cubs since signing a minor league deal over the off-season and, prior to that, has seen haphazard time in the Majors with the Rangers and Tigers since 2013.  Additionally, he's also spent time in Korea, adding some international flavor to the back of his baseball card. Splitting his time between the outfield, DH and first base, the bench piece has been good for .235/.286/.340 slash line throughout his Major League career - not the kind of guy you want filling in long-term, that's for sure.  However, he is a warm body, with Major League experience... beggars can't be choosers, after all.  He's also slugging .478 in the Pacific Coast League this season, for what that's worth.

It sure would be nice if he could continue slugging like that in the National League:

This is what a 479-foot home run looks like 😲

Jim Adduci's blast would rank as the second-furthest shot in the MLB this season. pic.twitter.com/Z6EAChl6Bg

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) May 23, 2019

Now, I hear what you're, no doubt, screaming at your monitor right now - "If Adduci was signed last winter, how can he possibly be a longtime Cubs farmhand?"  Well, that is an astute observation, imaginary blog reader, please allow me to elaborate.

Jim, the son of a Major Leaguer with the same name who is best remembered for his time with the Brewers in the 1980's, was drafted by the Marlins way back in 2003 - in the 42nd round.  The second-generation ballplayer was selected out of Evergreen Park High School, which is just down the road a piece from where I live.  The local product was then swapped to his hometown club, as part of a minor trade, a couple of years later and spent the rest of the decade as a trusted organizational guy, going up and down the Cubs chain as needed. 

The elder Adduci spent most of his MLB time with the Brew Crew

Adduci left the Cubbies as a minor league free agent after the 2012 season to find greener pastures and, now, after all this time, Jim will finally don a Cubs uniform in a bonafide, Major League ballgame.  That Cubs debut is going to come immediately, as he'll be starting in right field this afternoon in Houston:

Here is today's #Cubs lineup in Houston.

Game preview: https://t.co/1DDXDjiSpK pic.twitter.com/aJVQzAmnY4

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 27, 2019

Joe Maddon definitely likes to baptize his new guys by fire and the Cubs have a distinct lack of outfield options thanks to Bryant and Heyward playing bumper cars with their bodies yesterday afternoon.  While this situation is far from ideal, I must admit, it makes for a rather nice story to see a hometown guy make his long-awaited debut in the Cubbie Blue.  That being stated, I'm still hoping for a quick return from both Bryant and J-Hey.

Here's hoping that Jim does something Topps Now worthy with his opportunity - then, I can add a true Cubs card to my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection for the guy.  For now, the 2014 Topps single you see at the top of this post will have to do.  Luckily, for me and my CATRC, I had previously started up a binder that I called my "Coulda Been a Cub" collection, which featured cards of players who were once under contract with the Northsiders, but never appeared in an MLB contest for the club.  As such, I had myself a primo Adduci already set aside - now, much like the player it represents, this single will be "called up" to my most treasured collection.

Welcome to Chicago (finally) and to my CATRC binder, Mr. Adduci.  It's been a long time coming.