The Chicago Cubs reassigned prospect Kris Bryant to their minor league camp along with Javier Baez and Addison Russell and the move prompted some around the league and in the media to criticize the Cubs, as Bryant was one of the best players in the minors last season and was tearing it up in Spring Training, leading the league in home runs.
According to ESPN.com, the Cubs moved Bryant over to the minor league camp along with Baez and that allows the team to keep the third baseman from becoming eligible for free agency for an extra year. Bryant has been the subject of intense debate in the baseball world, as he appears ready to make his debut and is one of the best players in camp for the Cubs.
Some have criticized the Cubs for sacrificing games now and looking too far into the future by sending Bryant back, but Cubs president Theo Epstein said that it was a baseball decision. The MLBPA put out a statement about the move, but Major League Baseball supported the decision, saying the team was in their right to determine whether Bryant should make the roster or not.
ESPN writes that the 23-year-old will have the year of free agency deferred if he spends 12 or more days in the minors and that would push things to 2021 for the prospect. Bryant has been mashing in Spring Training after leading the minors with 43 home runs last season, as he is hitting .425 with nine home runs and 15 RBIs in just 40 at-bats.
Bryant is not on the 40-man roster and he will be heading to Triple-A Iowa along with second baseman Javier Baez, who was also optioned. The team reassigned shortstop Addison Russell to minor league camp and he is considered to be the fourth ranked prospect in baseball, according to Keith Law of ESPN. Law also ranked Bryant as the number one prospect in baseball.
Epstein defended the decision process earlier in the week, saying that some of his top players in Boston like Dustin Pedroia spent a good amount of time in the minors before debuting in the majors.
"In a healthy organization there should be different opinions expressed, bounce ideas off each other, talk about different aspects of the game and how you weigh different variables," Epstein said. "These players were new to Joe so he is seeing them for the first time and we couldn't have had a healthier debate about it and in the end we all agreed. I think I could probably be in this game for a long time and not send down three players that talented on the same day ever again. Those three are pretty good."
