Ricketts, Epstein Defend Handling Of Kris Bryant

Scott Boras’ recent comments regarding the likelihood that the Cubs will not promote his client Kris Bryant for Opening Day have added fuel to a debate that has gone on for years about when top prospects should be promoted, and how (or whether) clubs should weight service-time issues. (Bryant, of course, has added fuel of his own by hitting nine home runs in 32 Spring Training appearances.) Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein both commented on Bryant and Boras today.

• Ricketts spoke at a luncheon in Chicago Wednesday and defended his team’s right to promote players at its discretion, writes Phil Thompson of the Chicago Tribune. Boras, Ricketts said, has “the right as a fan to express his opinions. He has the right as an agent to represent his client. But we have the right as a team to make the player personnel decisions.”
• President of baseball operations Theo Epstein said that promoting players for the first time at the start of a season isn’t his usual approach regardless of service-time questions, via David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com. “I can say this: This is my 13th time putting a team together at the end of spring training and I have never once put a young prospect on an Opening Day roster when he had to make his major league debut,” said Epstein, who added that his approach with young players when he was GM of the Red Sox was to allow them to start their season in the minors and “get in a good rhythm” there before being promoted. Epstein suggested that the timing of a player’s big-league debut is important, and that having a player debut on Opening Day, when bad weather and lots of press attention are significant factors, might hurt the player.