Yes, we've been talking about this an awful lot, but Chicago Cubs' prospect Kris Bryant remains an interesting story line heading into spring training. He spoke to the Chicago Tribune and said he's ready to show the Cubs what he's got.
Bryant was named Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America for the 2014 season after leading all levels with 43 home runs. He's widely regarded as the top prospect in baseball, but the Cubs didn't promote the 23-year-old to their 40-man roster last September likely because of service time considerations that would delay his eventual free agency. That's something Chicago is probably keeping in mind since Bryant is a client of famed agent Scott Boras.
"Sure. I think I have a pretty good grasp of (service time)," Bryant told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday at the team's spring training facility in Arizona. "I don't look into it at all. I don't make those decisions. I make the decisions for me on the field and how hard I play. That's all I can control."
These comments mirror what Bryant said earlier in the offseason when he told Tony Andracki of CSN Chicago that making the Opening Day roster is his "ultimate goal" and he hopes to "make it really hard" for the Cubs to decide against that. However, all Chicago needs to do is keep Bryant off the major league roster for the first two weeks of the season to get him under club control for an extra season. The most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement credits a player with a full season of service if he spends 172 days on the major league roster.
Bryant spent spring training with the Cubs in 2014, but he didn't provide a convincing case after he struck out 11 times in 18 at-bats. Instead, he began the year at Double-A Tennessee and was promoted to Triple-A Iowa about halfway through the season. He batted .325/.438/.661/1.098 with 118 runs scored, 43 home runs, 110 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 138 games.
But now that the Cubs have traded Luis Valbuena to the Houston Astros, there is a glaring vacancy at third base, and it's Bryant's for the taking.
"I have a pretty good opportunity in front of me," Bryant added. "I'm ready to go and excited to hear the crack of the bat, get some ground balls and have fun with some of my friends.''
The Cubs kick off the 2015 season on Sunday Night Baseball against the St. Louis Cardinals and have three-game sets against the Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres in the first two weeks of the year. Look for Bryant to make his debut on April 20 against the Pittsburgh Pirates if Chicago opts to delay his promotion.
