*Disclaimer: The author has Bryant in his keeper fantasy league. He is untradeable and will be on Yari's Autonomics until he sucks or retires.
The Kris Bryant news is several days old now: he will not be on the Opening Day roster after being reassigned to minor league camp earlier this week. This despite hitting .425 with 9 homeruns and 15 RBI in 40 at-bats.
"I really wanted my performance this spring to matter," Bryant said. "I just felt it didn't matter as much (to them) as it did to me."
The bottom line is the Cubs never intended to have Bryant make the big-league roster out of camp. If they keep him down in AAA for the first 12 days of the season, they retain his rights for an additional season. From a business standpoint, I have
zero problem with them doing this. If I was a Cubs fan, I would have
zero problem with them doing this. Think about it - you have Kris Bryant, arguably the best prospect in the game today with once-in-a-lifetime power, until 2021 instead of 2020.
What I do have a problem with is the load of shit they're feeding the media and fans, saying it's a baseball decision and not a business decision. Go fuck yourself. I don't care if he could improve his footwork a bit at third base, or you want a bit more seasoning in LF. The Cavaliers didn't start Lebron in the D-league because he needed to work more on his jump shot.
Theo needs to step down off his high horse and be honest about the situation. I'd have a lot more respect for him and the organization if they admitted it's a business decision. But they've also painted themselves into a corner from a PR perspective.
If they call up Bryant after 12 days, it's even more obvious it was purely a baseball decision.
If they wait longer than 12 days to avoid that level of transparency, they jeopardize the short-term success of the organization even more than they already are. Bryan can help them win now, and if they miss the postseason by a handful of games, folks will question this decision even harder.
And if I'm Bryant, I'm jumping ship for a major contract somewhere else as soon as I qualify for free agency. Players hold grudges when it comes to these types of situations - Pablo Sandoval was the latest to admit it. The franchise offends you in a negotiation or when it comes to making the roster, the players don't forget. I hope Bryant never forgets.
Bottom line: we're not idiots. But the Cubs trying to mask this thing as a "baseball decision" is insulting to the intelligence of us all and even more insulting to their top prospect in Kris Bryant. And even though they've retained him for another year, this whole mess could backfire when Bryant is 29, in his prime, and poised for a blockbuster deal as the league's premier power hitter.
