Cubs make their call: send down Kris Bryant, Javier Baez
After weeks of speculation, the Chicago Cubs have made their decision. The club sent down promising youngsters Kris Bryant and Javier Baez on Monday.
The 23-year-old Bryant wasn’t expected to open the year in the majors, but put the Cubs in a difficult place by lighting up pitchers in the Cactus League. In 40 at-bats, he hit .425, with an astounding nine home runs, the most of any player this spring.
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That led to a nasty back-and-forth between Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and Bryant’s agent, Scott Boras. Epstein argued that few players are ready for the majors this early in their careers, while Boras said Bryant’s performance proves he’s one of the best 25 players in the organization. While Boras might be right, Esptein was the one who got to make the call.
Bryant’s demotion shouldn’t come as a major surprise. The Cubs can delay Bryant’s free agency by keeping him in the minors for roughly the first two weeks of the season. Bryant will miss about 12 major-league games, and the Cubs will get an extra year of control of him during his prime. While that could impact the team this season — if, say, they miss out on the playoffs by one game — it’s a risk most teams are willing to take. In fact, it’s a common one. The Astros, for example, did the same thing last season with George Springer.
It’s a loophole in the system that teams will exploit as long as they can. That doesn’t necessarily sell opening-day tickets or satisfy the hopeful fans on the North Side of Chicago, but it makes for a good business decision, as our own Jeff Passan notes:
The Baez decision comes as a bit more of a shock. The 22-year-old came into camp as the favorite to open the season at second base, but seemed to lose his grasp on that spot as spring went on. A week and a half ago, manager Joe Maddon told reporters Baez was “no lock” to make the opening day roster.
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While more surprising, the Baez move comes with less criticism. Baez displayed a poor approach at the plate, and an abysmal 41.5 percent strikeout rate in his brief major-league debut last year, even though he did hit a few monster homers for the Cubs. Those contact issues remained in the spring, and the team felt he could use more seasoning in the minors. Meanwhile, the Cubs can play utility man Arismendy Alcantara at second or Tommy La Stella, who they traded for in November.
It’s far too early to write off Baez, but it’s clear he has more work to do in the minors. Bryant, though technically less experienced, is probably closer to a finished product right now. He’ll likely be up shortly after the Cubs gain that extra year of control, while Baez will have to show actual signs of improvement before he’s back on the major-league roster.
Either way, the Cubs are still in pretty good shape. As long as the team isn’t a total disaster during the first two weeks, few will be able to criticize the Bryant decision from an on-the-field perspective. The club can also survive while Baez works out the kinks in the minors.
Despite the demotions, both players remain a huge part of the Cubs’ future. For now, that future has been delayed at least two weeks.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
