Former Cubs SS Addison Russell agrees to a deal with Korean baseball team, per reports
Addison Russell, the former Chicago Cubs All-Star shortstop, is looking to revive his career overseas.
Russell, 26, agreed to a one-year, $530,000 deal with the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization, according to reports.
Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News was the first to report the deal.
Russell's tenure with the Cubs ended this offseason when the team non-tendered the infielder and he became a free agent. He was suspended 40 games in 2018 for violating Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy. He served the final 28 games of his suspension in 2019 and before resuming his career at Class AAA Iowa.
The Cubs promoted him in August, but he struggled upon his return and batted just .237 in 82 games.
Heroes' GM Kim Chi-hyun said the team did its due diligence on Russell's history, according to the Yonhap News. Kim said Scott Boras, Russell's agent, told him that Russell had been suspended by MLB over a text message, not physical abuse.
"If he had engaged in physical abuse, he would have been banned for 80 games, but he served only 40 games," Kim told Yoo. "Obviously, what he did was wrong, but we felt it wasn't bad enough that he should no longer play baseball."