ST. LOUIS — The image of Ian Happ and Willson Contreras embracing in the home dugout at Wrigley Field represented a moment of goodbyes for what appeared to await the Chicago Cubs All-Stars.
That moment one week ago now becomes a reminder of the ups and downs leading up to the trade deadline, the uncertainties of the unknown. Both players thought that July 26 day was their last at Wrigley in a Cubs uniform. Yet Contreras and Happ will return with their teammates Friday for the Cubs’ next homestand.
Despite the Cubs’ 6-0 loss Tuesday to the St. Louis Cardinals, a lightheartedness lingered. Contreras barely could keep a smile off his face after president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer did not trade him because of insufficient value in return.
