Addison Russell, Infield

Date of Birth: 1/23/1994
Birthplace: Pensacola, Florida

Addison Russell, infielder, was first drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 2012. After almost two and a half years in the Athletics' minor league system, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs on July 4, 2014. He continued to play in the minors through the 2014 season.

Russell played in 233 games in the minor leagues from 2012 through 2014. During that time, he had 275 hits, 53 doubles, 150 RBIs, and 222 strikeouts to 103 walks. As a shortstop, he made 596 assists, 128 double plays, 302 putouts, and 30 errors in 217 games.

Russell played in 142 games with the Cubs in 2015. He hit his first major league home run on May 1st. He finished the season with 115 hits, 29 doubles, 13 home runs, 54 RBIs, and a .242 batting average. Defensively, he played 86 games at second base and 61 games at shortstop. He batted .250 in the postseason with 3 hits, including a triple, 1 RBI, and 1 stolen base in 12 at-bats in 4 games.

Russell had a good second season with the Cubs in 2016. He batted .238 with 125 hits, 25 doubles, 21 home runs, and 95 RBIs in 151 games. Defensively, as the Cubs' shortstop in 148 games, he made 388 assists, 60 double plays, 152 putouts, and 14 errors. In the postseason, he batted .203 with 13 hits, including 2 doubles and 3 home runs, and 13 RBIs in 64 at-bats in 17 games.

Russell finished the 2017 season with 84 hits, 21 doubles, 12 home runs, 43 RBIs, 91 strikeouts to 29 walks, and a .239 batting average in 110 games. Defensively, as the Cubs' shortstop in 101 games, he made 258 assists, 49 double plays, 113 putouts, and 12 errors. In the postseason, he had 6 hits and 5 RBIs in 34 at-bats in 10 games.

Russell was placed on administrative leave on September 21, 2018, pending further investigation of domestic abuse charges. He finished the 2018 season with 105 hits, 21 doubles, 38 RBIs, 99 strikeouts to 40 walks, and a .250 batting average in 130 games. Defensively, as a shortstop in 129 games, he made 314 assists, 66 double plays, 157 putouts, and 17 errors.

Russell played in 82 games with the Cubs in 2019, and he had 51 and a .237 batting average. Defensively, he played 63 games at second base and 21 games at shortstop. He also played in 27 games in the minors.

Russell became a free agent on December 2, 2019. He played in the Korean Baseball Organization in 2020, and in the Mexican League and the Mexican Pacific Winter League in 2021.

Career batting statistics for Russell through 2019 include:

• 615 games played
• 480 hits
• 100 doubles
• 253 RBIs
• 532 strikeouts to 186 walks
• .242 batting average

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Addison Russell
ESPN - Addison Russell
Baseball Reference - Addison Russell