For Chicago, it's Time to Free Kris Bryant

The front of the Pinole Library

The Chicago Cubs, a 106-year laughing stock of a team that hasn't won a championship since 1908, is on the verge of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  This past winter, the Cubbies made big-time moves, stealing away the veteran manager of the Tampa Bay Rays in Joe Maddon and signing three-time All-Star pitcher Jon Lester, as well as vital role players in the speedster Dexter Fowler, former National League Rookie of the Year, Chris Coghlan, and lefty-specialist Travis Wood.  The Cubs have also put themselves in   a position to have a great future as well, drafting up-and-comers such as Jorge Soler, Addison Russell, Arismendy Alcantara, and Javier Baez, all who are in the Top 100 of their respective Draft Classes and all who are poised to become Big League superstars.  The Cubbies are on the up-and-up, especially because they also have a kid waiting in the wings by the name of Kris Bryant.

The parking lot of the Pinole Library

In short, Kris Bryant is a monster at the plate, a true testament to the Chicago Cubs front office and their ability to draft.  As the second overall pick in the 2013 Major League Draft, Bryant tore it up in 2014, batting .325, slugging 43 homers, and driving in 110 runs.  In Spring Training, Bryant proved to everyone that the hype was real, batting an unreal .425 and hitting nine homers in just 40 at-bats.  But even with his incredible spring and 2014 campaign, Chicago Cubs general manager Theo Epstein has elected to keep Bryant in the minor leagues in order to keep him locked up until the year 2021 instead of allowing him to enter arbitration in 2020.  Bryant isn't the only person to fall victim to the process of being held back.  Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Gregory Polanco and was held back at the beginning of their teams' 2014 season in order to be held on for an additional couple of years. 

Contractually, this is a smart move by Epstein.  By locking up Bryant for an additional year, not only does he get that extra year on Bryant's contract, but it saves him a year's salary, which could in turn give the Cubbies a little spending money to blow on whoever hits the free market by 2020.  The problem is that Cubs fans are impatient; there have been four generations of Cubs fans since the last time they won it all and they're anxious.  The south side faithful don't want to wait another month for the phenomenon; they want him now.  If they struggle, these next couple of games could come back to haunt the Cubs 2015 playoff push in October and it may very well come down to Epstein's decision to not sign Bryant.  Fans can only wait and pray that the Cubs made the right move in keeping Bryant down yet again.