Last week it was said manager Joe Maddon would be experimenting with the Chicago Cubs lineup in spring training. Could one of those "experiments" involve moving prospect third baseman Kris Bryant to the outfield?
Position players for the Cubs are required to report to spring training tomorrow, but some have arrived early to get some extra practice in and have meetings with the coaching staff. One of those players was Bryant, who is entering his second spring training with the team, and he met with Maddon on Monday to discuss a few things.
"I had my first meeting with Kris today," Maddon said via Bruce Levine of CBSChicago.com. "He was very impressive and very mature for a kid of 23. He understands what he is doing really well. He is accepting of working in the outfield, very excepting of that ... As a team member, he is prepared to go to the outfield."
Last week Bryant made it clear where he wanted to play on the defensive side of the ball.
"I've said before. I want to stay at third base," Bryant told the Chicago Tribune. "It's a position that comes naturally for me. I played there for a long time. I've been working at it very hard, day in and day out, trying to get as many ground balls as I can, as many drills as I can. And I'm here to show them what I've been working on."
The team previously notified Bryant that a switch or add-on position was a possibility in the future, and it appears the Cubs will test that out in the coming weeks. A couple of the Cubs' recently promoted prospects - Arismendy Alcantara and Javier Baez - have endured position changes as the team hopes to create more flexibility on their roster. Alcantara started the season at second base, but what moved to center field when Baez was called up to play second base (although he's primarily a shortstop). Now Alcantara could be starting at third base on Opening Day after the team traded Luis Valbuena. The outfield has also been considered an option for Baez in the past.
"By moving players around, you can take the pressure off of their bat," Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer told Levine. "I think Joe uses that as a mental edge with the players as well."
Following spring training, Bryant will likely spend the first 21 days of the 2015 season at Triple-A Iowa so the team gets an extra year of him under club control (service time considerations). If he proves capable of playing the outfield in March, he'll probably continue to get some reps there in the minors for good measure.
Bryant and Alcantara have promising bats, and with an outfield consisting of Dexter Fowler (signed for only one season), Jorge Soler (has a history of hamstring issues) and Chris Coghlan in left (518 career games in six MLB seasons), it's possible the Cubs are going to need others to fill in at those positions at some point in 2015 and beyond.
