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Levine: Tommy La Stella's Walkout Forces Cubs To Look For A Bat

By Bruce Levine--

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The curious case of backup Cubs infielder Tommy La Stella continues to make headlines. Now 11 days removed from an assignment to Triple-A Iowa, La Stella has stayed in touch with team officials but won't commit to a return to the minor leagues.

The Cubs have put La Stella on the temporary inactive list. The lefty-swinging La Stella was primarily used as a pinch-hitter and spot starter whom manager Joe Maddon used to his peak potential by inserting him into the lineup against certain right-handed pitchers, as he sported a .295 batting average and .846 OPS. When confronted with an assignment to the minors, La Stella bolted and returned to his home in New Jersey.

General manager Jed Hoyer hopes La Stella has a change of heart in the near future. In the meantime, the the Cubs have no choice but to look for another left-handed bat for backup purposes.

"In theory, yeah we do have to look for a bat," Hoyer said Tuesday before a home game against the Angels. "We have to think through things from an organizational standpoint. Having really good left-handed bats off the bench is important for us. We love our depth right now. That might not necessitate a move. Certainly, we have to look for left-handed bats so we are prepared for a good right-handed reliever late in the season."

The Cubs wouldn't say if the 27-year-old La Stella was stable in his thought process, but Hoyer did state that he's physically fit to return. The Cubs did kick the tires on adding a left-handed bat before the non-wavier trading deadline passed on Aug. 1, with Athletics outfielder Josh Reddick on their list before he was dealt to the Dodgers.

Both Hoyer and Maddon said La Stella would need to go to Triple-A and get in baseball condition again before any kind of a return to the Cubs was possible.

Still, La Stella had one teammates defending him and backing up his right of refusing an assignment.

"Yeah, why not," Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward said when asked if La Stella had a right to not report to the minors. "You don't want to think otherwise. He has shown multiple times he can do it. He did it coming back from injury, always ready to play. When things like that happen, how do you overcome it? So if he felt this is what it is going to be, then this is the way its going to be. Whatever the move, he felt it was longer than he saw fit."

The Cubs demoted La Stella to make room for outfielder Chris Coghlan to be activated off the disabled list on July 29. Coghlan didn't have any options left and thus could've been lost on waivers if he was designated for assignment.

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.

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