Earlier this month Cubs prospect Jorge Soler was suspended five games after attempting to attack the opposing team’s dugout while holding a bat and now his own manager has benched him for not hustling.
Single-A Daytona manager Dave Keller told Sean Kernan of the Daytona Beach News Journal that Soler was benched for failing to run hard twice during Saturday’s game:
He sat [Sunday] because within the philosophy and the work ethic that we are trying to create in this organization--and that we are trying to get our players to understand--work ethic, energy, determination, playing hard and running hard is part of the whole program. When you don’t do that, then you don’t get to play. That’s something that has really been emphasized over the last two years.
Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports that Keller “has the support of Cubs’ management in his disciplinary measure.”
Soler, who signed a $30 million contract with the Cubs after defecting from Cuba, has hit .276 with two homers and a .785 OPS in 15 games at high Single-A as a 21-year-old.
