After one season with the Chicago Cubs, Jason Kipnis is heading elsewhere, as the second baseman has agreed to a deal with the Atlanta Braves.
Kipnis, who appeared in 44 games for the Cubs last season, made the announcement on Twitter Monday afternoon:
Born in suburban Northbrook, Kipnis spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Cleveland Indians, making a pair of All-Star Game appearances and helping the Indians to an American League title in 2016, when he hit 23 home runs and drove in 82 RBI’s.
Of course, Cubs fans know how that series turned out, as the Cubs beat the Indians in the World Series.
In 44 games with the Cubs last season, Kipnis had three home runs and 16 RBI’s, and he slashed .237/.341/.404 for the north siders.
Kipnis said goodbye to Cubs fans in a follow-up tweet:
Currently the Cubs have two second basemen on their 40-man roster, with Nico Hoerner and Ildemaro Vargas, and David Bote can also play the position. It’s unclear what manager David Ross intends to do at second base this season, but with the loss of Kipnis, the team could still be in the market for a veteran player, which would give Hoerner more time to potentially develop his skills at the minor league level.
