Major League Baseball's investigation into an allegation of domestic abuse against Cubs shortstop Addison Russell on his wife's social media account has been dragging on for a month with no signs of a resolution.
Russell's agent, Scott Boras, believes the situation will be resolved in Russell's favor and is not affecting his play. Russell is hitting .226 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs at the break, compared with .237, 11 and 51 in the first half of 2016, when he was the National League's All-Star starter at shortstop.
"No, I don't think we look at it that way at all," Boras said. "I think we know the facts of that and the foundation of social media. I don't think there is any support to (the allegation). It's just really a matter of his shoulder feels good now, and he's back healthy."
The allegation was made on Instagram by an alleged friend of Russell's wife, Melisa Reidy-Russell, who filed for divorce on June 21, shortly after she claimed on a social media site that he had cheated on her.
Boras declined to criticize the MLB investigation's slow progress.
"I'm sure there is a thoroughness that's the standard that they have," he said. "There may be more that they want to look into. I know from our standpoint there are very few people involved. There's been no support for the foundation to support any of the claims made, and immediately the next day the (social media post) was erased.
"As far as Addison going through things, obviously any player goes through personal issues off the field. They have lives. But I'm looking forward to the second half. His shoulder was bothering him but now he feels pretty good about it."
