The Chicago Cubs acquired outfielder Dexter Fowler from the Houston Astros on Monday in exchange for third baseman Luis Valbuena and pitcher Dan Straily. While it's believed this move was to make room for prospect Kris Bryant, general manager Jed Hoyer provided some clarity on the matter.
Bryant is the team's No. 1 prospect and one of the top ranked in all of baseball. The 23-year-old third baseman led the minor leagues in home runs last season with 43, while also slashing .325/.438/.661 with 118 runs scored, 110 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 138 games between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa. Many thought he would be called up before the end of the 2014 season, but he remained in Triple-A.
As a result, once the team dealt Valbuena, it was widely speculated Bryant would be with the Cubs on Opening Day. There's no question he'll be on the roster at some point during the 2015 season, but apparently the trade did not indicate such a move for Chicago.
"It's totally independent," Hoyer told Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. "Kris' development is independent of any move we made today. We have a number of guys who will be working at third [this spring] ... When Kris is ready, when we think he's ready to come up to the big leagues, we'll make that decision but certainly trading Valbuena will not speed up that clock at all. It's all dependent on Kris."
Mike Olt is listed as the starting third baseman on the team's depth chart and he only has 105 professional games under his belt. Muskat also notes Tommy La Stella, Arismendy Alcantara and Javier Baez could be potential options, although they're all primarily middle infielders. Chicago will be able to survive for a short while if they want to start Bryant off in the minors and give him some time to prep for the big leagues, but there could be another issue holding him back.
Hoyer did mention "it's all dependent on Kris," but if his development is the main concern then what are the Cubs waiting for? Bryant led the minors in home runs and he's regarded as one of the best young players in the business. But the former first round pick did see his average, on-base percentage and OPS dip when he went from Double-A to Triple-A and he also struck out 162 times in 492 at-bats, so there are some areas that could use burnishing.
However, let's not forget about service time and how MLB clubs can benefit from it. Mark Townsend of Yahoo! Sports provided some insight back in September when the Cubs opted to keep Bryant in the minors.
"By calling him up now, the Cubs would start Bryant's MLB service time, which means he would be closer to arbitration eligibility, which could prove expensive for Chicago. He'd also be one year closer to free agency, which, given his minor league production, looks like another potential healthy payday."
We don't know if this is the main issue, but it's certainly something to consider.
