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MILWAUKEE – After conceding two games late at Orlando Arcia on Friday night, the Cubs had seen Carl Edwards Jr. enough to know that he was not right.
Edwards had seen enough of it too, because his body language after breakfast and out of the mound seemed as depressed as a professional athlete could possibly appear.
Javy Baez went to show Edwards his support. Teammates and coaches had their backs in the dugout. But this was just the last chapter of Edwards' recent struggles: serving a shot in the opposite direction at a short stop after his team scored 5 unanswered points in an effort to clear an 8-0 deficit.
After this release, the Cubs decided to send Edwards to the miners, where they want him to press the reset button mechanically and mentally.
"We felt that he was about to reach a point where he would really benefit from a great recovery," Theo Epstein said Saturday night. "He had a very good spring training, but he has not been right since his first appearance, just to try to make mechanical changes."
"I think it will benefit him fundamentally, then mentally, just to get some rest and focus on the attackers and the shots, he's not the same, he's struggling to find the area early and he's better and better than seeing him normally when he is himself. "
The Cubs did not want to keep Edwards in the big leagues and only used it in low-debt situations, especially with the rest of the struggling industry.
Edwards has been one of the best lifters of the Cubs in recent years, showing flashes of elite production, but also occasionally lack of mastery. Last year, he went through a very difficult time in the pursuit of Cubs pennants. He beat 12 batters on 7 September before being inactive for the NL NL Card Game.
During the winter, he modified his delivery to include a small brush reminiscent of that of Dodgers, closer to Kenley Jansen. Edwards used this delivery all spring before the MLB told him that it was illegal to play a few games in the 2019 regular season and that he was forced to return to his old form.
The Cubs do not think the change of delivery was a big part of the problem, but Joe Maddon also admitted it was harder for Edwards to keep his mechanics online while adding a bunch of moving parts.
In fact, no matter what Edwards does with his body before throwing the ball – his problem was more in the ears than anything else.
"Once he has really taken control of his mental game, he will be as good as anyone," said Epstein. "I think he's working on it and that he's going to get there." Considering the start, he started and it's a difficult environment for him to do it very quickly right now So we'll give him some space and let him work there. "
Maddon wants to see Edwards work on his mental routine between launches and avoid thinking too much, nibbling with his throws or fighting.
In the spring, during training, Maddon was at the center of Edwards' new comeback, but only because he only wanted the 27-year-old right-hander to do everything that made him feel comfortable.
Edwards appreciated the progress he was making with the delivery changes and felt confident throughout a strong camp. But once the lights went on and the games started to count, he fell into bad habits.
"Back in South Carolina or Mesa, you can do different things while still having some success," said Maddon. "But when the bell rings, it's different – your body must be able to function normally without being too cluttered and I think it's a bit far from that."
It's unclear how Edwards will be able to handle those moments when he returns to the big leagues. Even in real minor league games, these games are still not as important as the MLB competitions. It can be difficult for Edwards to reproduce the same feeling of pressure and refine his mental approach.
Nevertheless, Edwards will at least be able to get work in games that mean a lot more than the action of the Cactus League and can hand over his mechanics online after getting too erased with this benefit.
It's the same practice that the Cubs showed with guys like Kyle Schwarber in 2017 and Ian Happ this spring: go down to Triple-A, do well mentally and mechanically, then come back with the feeling of a fresh start.
As Epstein always says, development is not linear.
"We really like the guy," said Maddon. "He did a very good job for us, we have to get him back, we have to get him back in. I've been involved with a lot of good players who have had a major league success that were eventually fired and who are income. " very good after that.
"… Once you get in and settle in and you start to see the benefits and you know very well that you're coming back, it's a win-win situation for everyone." So it's not easy, but what's a little easier is knowing that it's good for him and that it will make a difference in his career and for us. "
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