We mentioned last week how Chicago Cubs' prospect Kris Bryant is seemingly ready to perform at the major league level, but the team may have other reasons for prolonging his promotion. Do the Cubs need him to give them the best chance to win?
The 23-year-old Bryant was named Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America after he finished the season as the home run champion with 43 dingers. Many speculated he would get the call to join the 40-man roster last September, but Chicago kept him in the minors for, what many believe, service time considerations.
"You go back in years past and you've seen teams be very cautious with their superstar prospects, waiting until the Super 2 deadline or at least until the free-agent date comes around so they get that extra year of control, especially when the player, as in [Bryant's] case, is represented by Scott Boras," FOX Sports' Jon Morosi told MLB Network.
The Cubs traded third baseman Luis Valbuena to the Houston Astros earlier in the offseason, leaving a vacancy at Bryant's primary position. He'll join the team in spring training next week and compete for a spot on the roster, but it's unknown who the Opening Day starter at third base will be. General manager Jed Hoyer said the Valbuena trade did not expedite Bryant's arrival to the big leagues and that it would solely be dependent upon his performance.
However, manager Joe Maddon plans to experiment with the lineup in spring training, which means Bryant may have a legitimate shot to be starting on Opening Day if he outperforms the other candidates at third base, especially since this will be a high-profiled story line over the next month and a half. Maddon says he needs to "go through a spring training with a guy like that to give my full opinion of him," so it's possible Bryant convinces the veteran manager he's worthy of the starting job.
"However, you're also now hearing from the Cubs this year, from [manager] Joe Maddon and [first baseman] Anthony Rizzo, talking about the World Series and winning the division," continues Morosi. "If you're going to talk about that, don't you have to have your best team on the field Opening Day?"
If Bryant's performance throughout spring training is significantly better than the others competing for the position, the Cubs may not have much of a choice to make.
