The Chicago Cubs are working on building the core of their team from within - a process they already have in motion. This offseason they traded third baseman Luis Valbuena to the Houston Astros and there now exists a glaring vacancy at the position. Will prospect Kris Bryant get the call on Opening Night?
Bryant led the minor leagues in home runs this past season with 43 and played a total of 138 games between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa. He also batted .325/.438/.661/.1098 with 118 runs scored, 110 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. He was clearly dominant and ready to be called up to the Cubs' roster, but it was believed he was held back because of service time considerations (and the move essentially gave Chicago another year of control over the 23-year-old).
Cubs' manager Joe Maddon appeared on MLB Network Radio with Casey Stern and Jim Bowden last week and was asked if Bryant would be with the team on Opening Night. Maddon has inherited a ton of young talent in his first year on the job and will spend spring training with Bryant to get a better idea of who he is as a player and clubhouse personality.
"I don't know," he responded when asked about Bryant's status for Opening Night. "Again, that's a lot to put on a young guy like him ... there's a lot of things to consider. I don't know enough about him in a dugout or in a bench. I need to go through a Spring Training with a guy like that to give you my full opinion of him. But just watching him on video tape he's a really exciting player. Of course he's an impact of our future for many years to come, when that's going to begin, I'm not 100 percent sure yet."
Earlier in the offseason, Cubs' general manager Jed Hoyer said the timetable for the prospect has not changed after the team's moves. Mike Olt is listed as the team's starting third baseman on the depth chart, which proves position has room to upgrade. Olt, 26, spent 89 games with Chicago in 2014 and slashed .160/.248/.356 with 12 home runs and 33 RBIs while striking out 100 times in 258 plate appearances. Bryant is considered the game's top prospect by many and his long-awaited arrival likely won't be interrupted by Olt.
"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," Hoyer said, via Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. "It's all dependent on Kris."
Bryant seems to be up to the challenge.
"I'm very excited to get going in spring training and show them what I've been working on and show them what I have," he told Tony Andracki of CSN Chicago. "Hopefully, I go out there and make it really hard on them."
