Cubs send Kris Bryant to minor-league camp, option Javier Baez to Triple-A
Kris Bryant won't be at third base for the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night at Wrigley Field. And Javier Baez won't be at second.
On Monday, the Cubs reassigned Bryant - the 23-year-old prospect who led the majors with nine home runs this spring - to minor-league camp while also optioning Baez to Triple-A Iowa.
No player generated as much buzz this spring as Bryant, whose immediate future with the Cubs proved extremely contentious over the last few weeks. Selected second overall in the 2013 draft, Bryant blasted 43 home runs last season before exploding with the Cubs this spring, managing a 1.652 OPS over 14 Cactus League games that convinced many he was deserving of a spot on the Opening Day roster.
Many suspected, however, that the Cubs would dispatch Bryant to the minor leagues to open the season in order to delay starting his service time clock, a strategy utilized to gain an extra year of control over the third baseman. This tactic has drawn both praise and criticism, though Bryant's agent - the inimitable Scott Boras - emphatically condemned the practice earlier this month.
"The opiate of player control cannot supersede the greater importance of MLB's integrity and brand, which says that this is where the best players play. You can't have that," Boras told Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. "Clearly, there's an obligation to put the best players in the big leagues."
Though the Cubs opted Monday to open the regular season without Bryant, he will almost certainly be added to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues within the next few weeks.
"I've never put a guy on an Opening Day roster who hadn't played in the big leagues previously. In 13 years, I've never done it," Cubs president of baseball operations Epstein said last week. "I'm not saying I'd never do it, but the general rule, the presumption, is to allow those guys to go out, play, get comfortable, get in rhythm and come up when you handpick just the right moment for them to have success."
The decision to option Baez to the minors, however, is a bit more surprising, as the 22-year-old logged 52 games with the Cubs last season and was already on the 40-man roster. Baez, the ninth overall pick in 2011, also said last week a club official assured him he'd have a spot on the Opening Day roster.
His performance, however, did little to inspire optimism. After posting an unsightly 41 percent strikeout rate with Chicago last season, Baez floundered this spring, hitting only .173/.218/.231 with 20 strikeouts in 16 games.
"He's so close to getting it figured out in the batter’s box," Epstein said of Baez. "But we just feel like Triple-A is the right forum for him."
The Cubs also shipped shortstop prospect Addison Russell to minor-league camp Monday in what was easily the least surprising transaction of the afternoon. The 21-year-old enjoyed a solid spring with the club, hitting .324/.359/.486 with one home run and a pair of stolen bases, but has just 66 games of experience above the High-A level.
As such, the Cubs will likely proceed with Mike Olt at third and either Tommy La Stella or Arismendy Alcantara at second base through the early part of the season.