Cubs accept Kevin Gregg’s apology, will not release reliever

“The game didn’t unfold the way I wanted it to, but from what they told me over the past few days it makes it difficult to play anyways, let alone knowing what they think,” Gregg said to the media. “For an organization to come out and say, ‘Hey, we are going to go a different direction,’ a little professional courtesy would have been nice.”

Manager Dale Sveum called Gregg into his office following the incident, where Sveum, Gregg, and Vice President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein had a meeting. Afterwards, Epstein told reporters that Gregg had apologized. He also said that the team was considering releasing Gregg.

Such a move would have been more symbolic than anything. Gregg, 35, will be a free agent at the end of the season, anyway. That’s a big reason the Cubs wanted to try Strop, 28, at closer. He has more of a future with the team.

After apologizing to Sveum and Epstein, Gregg went back to the media to clarify his earlier comments.

“Now that I have sat down with Theo and Dale again, they clarified things and I was able to cool off a little bit. They want to get a look at [Strop], but they are not going to take anything from me, either. They wanted to work together to see what this future holds for the organization with him and myself. I am OK with that. I like that idea.”

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