CHICAGO (AP) — Major League Baseball is investigating racist messages sent to Chicago Cubs reliever Carl Edwards Jr. on Instagram this month.

Theo Epstein, the president of baseball operations for the Cubs, calls the language "reprehensible" and says it "cannot be tolerated in our game or society."

Lee Long, Edwards' agent, says the racist messages came from a couple different people. He says no player "should be expected to bear such personal attacks especially based on the color of their skin." Edwards is African American.

The Athletic first reported the investigation.

Edwards was optioned to Triple-A Iowa after he had trouble with his motion and got off to a tough start this season. The 27-year-old right-hander went 3-2 with a career-low 2.60 ERA in 58 games last year.

___

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports