Kid's getting a raw deal?

I understand the difference really doesn't have anything to do with the coaches.  Instead, it has to do with player control and contracts.  At least that is what I am hearing. 

12ish games without Bryant saves the Cubs $20-$30 million in free agency if Bryant "projects" like they believe, or one year additional control, if he leaves.

 

Astros did same last year with Springer.

I thought Theo handled the same question, parsed and rephrased umpteen times, brilliantly. I would have thrown in "Scott Boras is his agent, so we are proceeding accordingly" And you know what? I bet a lot of fans would have backed off a bit...

Im with the others.  Its a total money thing.  Unlike travel ball, and HS ball there is a very large business component to the decisions made by Prof. teams.  

I understand the arbitration control, but a lot of young guys are signing contracts before their arbitration years are up, so it really doesn't always matter.  Just sign the kid to a contract now.  The Braves have done this a lot.

This was a great business and baseball move.  By holding him down I think it's something like 20 days and 17 games (or something like that) they will be able to keep control of him one more year versus bringing him up at start of the season.  Basically it comes down to having him at the big club for 20 days or 365 days.  I don't think the early signing before arbitration would happen here. Boras knows he has a stud here and will let his contract run out and enter free agency to get a max deal from somebody.  The Cubs will have to open the bank to keep him or trade him in his last year.  I would bet Epstein is going to trade him before he walks via free agency or bust the bank on him.

It's pretty simple actually: when in doubt, follow the money. It's a business decision, made by a business that is paying a lot of dough for some of their employees.  In the scheme of things, this is pretty normal. Rosters aren't always necessarily your best 28 players; often they are composed of 28 players that are best for the team, for a variety of reasons, at the moment.

Golfman is right...coaches suck. 

Pretty sure Maddon (the "coach") would vote to have Bryant with the big club. But coaches still suck.

As you said Golfman25 "If you listen to him, he's not really happy about it."....I don't want to go all movie knowledge here and think it's reality...BUT...wasn't the imaginary Kevin Costner character very clear when he was coaching the the Tim Robbins character...you don't badmouth the club or their decisions, and you thank God in every interview for the chance to play ball and aside from that you keep your mouth shut!

 

"Y'know, I'm just happy to be here
and hope I can help the ballclub.
I just want to give it my best
shot and good Lord willing,
things'll work out... gotta play
'em one day at a time, Y'know..."

 

Has this young man shot himself in the foot with his outspoken view on how the club handled his career?

He hasn't said anything bad at all (to my knowledge).  End of the day he and Boras knew this was coming and they are starting the posturing for getting a max deal from someone other than the Cubs.  He's going to play out his contract and then get a huge deal from someone besides the Cubs and go there.  

But they ain't the  Cubbies.

 

http://nypost.com/2015/04/08/t...n-less-postponement/

 

Come on people, this was a business decision worth millions to the club. It seems ridiculous not to have him on the big league club, but this is BUSINESS and that means you don't always have the best 25 on the roster.  Do I agree, I just agree that some of these rules for arbitration and MLB free agency are just archaic.

The player will always get screwed over. Trust me, he didn't shoot himself in the foot for any comments he may have made. Someone is gonna pay big bucks for him and its not going to be the cubs.

 

 

In the interview he gave he seemed to try to maintain the aw shucks it's just a privilege to play...but then he let these slip in there too:

 

-"I don't want to say I'm mad or anything, I'm just extremely disappointed," Bryant said Thursday. "I wanted my performance to matter, and to me it felt like it didn't matter as much as I thought it would.

 

-"I'm a big believer if you go out there and perform and work hard and you earn it then I believe you should get that chance to play up there. I guess it was viewed differently than I thought.""

 

-"I feel like last year I had a pretty good performance and felt like maybe I did better than some guys that might be in the big leagues that got called up, but people do things differently."

 

I pulled out the worst of them, and they aren't horribly bad...but he definitely didn't tow the line of it's a privilege to play...then again he IS human and DOES have feelings...just wondering if he did himself any harm here.

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_...-bryant-chicago-cubs

 

Nothing that was said there is bad in any way.  Nobody in the Cubs are upset over these comments, nobody has had a closed door meeting with him over these comments and Boras is behind every single word Bryant said.  This is all posturing and playing the media to generate sympathy for his client.  All of this will be brought up in a few years when his contract is up.  If Epstein is still in charge I would be surprised if his contract expires while he is a Cub - even if they are in a strong pennant race.  Epstein is a baseball genius, and this will be confirmed if the Cubs can win a World Series in a few years, therefore he will not get burned by Bryant leaving without anything in return.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if this loophole is eliminated next collective bargain agreement.  Players aren't real happy with teams being able to do this.  I may be wrong but I would be they at least fight to get rid of it.

While I get what you are saying, maybe some just don't get how hard it is to make a ML team, and when that chance comes and you don't get it, it bites. And to have the one chance that you have to determine your own destiny (free agency) being held back really suxs not just for the player but for ALL players.

Here you are working your butt off for the team and for many this shows little respect for all the hard work put in.  

What harm did he do?  If the cubs don't want him when time comes, someone will and they will pay lots of money for him. No harm at all.

 

Understand that if players were given a chance (anonymously of course) to write a book about how they feel they are treated, it would probably weigh 20 pounds. Now someone may say they are ungrateful, but all we see is the glitz and the glamour, we have no clue what goes on.

I'll bet he never sees Arbitration, because the Cubs aren't stupid.  He'll come up later this year, rip it up, and the Cubs will sign him to a huge contract in the offseason; so these few weeks will end up not mattering.  They should have brought him up.

 

He's not a spring chicken.  I think he's 23, so he's ready to tear it up. He's not just some kid out of high school that you aren't sure is going to make it.  He's mature and capable.  He'll sign and never see arbitration.

All depends on whether the cubs have a decent year and he as well.

 

This is yet another example of big business baseball and how the teams have the control over the player.

Well said Coach.  This is why bosses look at the long term and employees look at the short term.  Newsflash.....baseball is big business and teams like to make money and control their assets.

 

Congrats to Bryant for having a great Spring training......but it is Spring training.  He did not face MLB pitchers full time.  He'll get his chance very soon.  

 

As for Boras, he's just being Boras.  He's paid to be shocked and outraged that his client has to wait a few more weeks (gasp!) to be called up.

Honestly, I disagree that they will lock him down with that long term contract before arbitration. Boras won't let him due to how much money he thinks he can get from free agency.  Now all this could change if Bryant comes up and doesn't perform or isn't as good as advertised.  But as a Cubs fan I'm going to be positive and say he will tear it up.  Therefore driving up his value and dictating a max contract in free agency.

Bryant is six+ years away from free agency.  Per the hype, he should be at 300 hr's by then.

This locks Bryant up until he is 30 years old.  He will get paid in arbitration assuming he performs close to expectations but the Cubs will own him for the bulk of his Prime.

 

Of course with this move it seems unlikely they'll be able to sign him to a long term deal at arbitration time for any kind of "discount" especially with Boras sitting there. 

 

Is it possible the Cubs blow a playoff spot by a game or two by holding Bryant back?  I suppose it could but the calculus of this deal seems to be on Theo's side IMO.  His track record also buys him the benefit of the doubt as well.  If the Cubs get over the hump and win the series on his watch he probably has an inside track to the HOF as the all-time dragon slayer.

  

Cubs fan(s), would you take Correa straight up for Bryant?  Two years younger, plays a premium position, (per scouts projections) better all around hit tool, same power, better arm, better fielder.

 

I would take Correa.

 

 

I would take both of them. Castro's days are numbered with the Cubs, especially with Correa putting up the numbers he has.

It will be a matter of days before Bryant is called up. The Cubs even postponed a game without rain to get one day closer...Gotta love a good conspiracy theory, especially if it might be a little bit true   We're talking arbitration and free agency six years from now. A LOT can happen in that time period. Six years ago, Starlin Castro was the future man for the Cubs. Ho-hum. And I am a HUGE Cubbies fan!!

 

http://nypost.com/2015/04/08/t...n-less-postponement/

       
       
For purposes of full disclosure I am a die hard white sox fan and cub hater...  with that disclaimer out of the way Bryant should shut his fool mouth and play baseball wherever they send him for however long they send him  $7million signing bonus = shut up and count your blessings! 

P.S. To all cubby nation do you want me to start listing your 'can't miss' prospects from the last 50 years???

Bryant can be called up for game thirteen and the Cubs add a year before free agency. As for Bryant signing a long term contract before free agency, Boras has the reputation of taking his players through free agency. They sign for the largest offer. I was shocked when Porcello signed a four year deal with the Sox this week. I figured for sure he was one and done with Boras as his agent.

I think that its a different game for pitchers. These are most probably his best years, it was a sweet deal.

Bryant called up...the timing is just SOOO shocking!

 

 

http://bleacherreport.com/arti...amp;utm_campaign=mlb

 

"The timing of the move is important with Bryant because there are 171 days left in the 2015 season as of Friday. A player must be on the MLB roster for 172 days in a year for it to count as a full season of service time, so the Cubs will retain an extra year on the back end of Bryant’s contract that they wouldn't have if he had started Opening Day on the team."

We can only hope and pray that his mere $7,000,000 signing bonus can help to assuage his tremendous grief in this his most desperate hour!

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I needed that

$7MM probably shrunk a lot before he ever got ahold of it.  I would guess it is more like $3MM after taxes and Mr. Boras's slice.  Even so he should not be starving.

For those that think feel that Bryant isnt hurting financially, I agree; however, google net worth of Cubs and he should get plenty more sympathy. No comparison as to net worth. Just saying!

He's now about to make more on per diem than some Single A players make in salary.  Pretty sure he just got a big raise ($600K/yr albeit pro rated) also.  Anyone need to jump back over the the MiLB wage thread and see what the low end looks like?  I'd hate to make it into the top 1% of my field only to be making less than minimum wage.

       
       
He could always quit and go flip burgers!

0-3 in his first 3 ABs with 3 strike outs.  Maybe the Cubs knew something we didn't.  

While I know that some of you find this amusing because he already has plenty of money, understand that the above represents just how MLB can manipulate to their benefit.  This creates a lot of resentment, there is always resentment between player and upper management.

I hope that someday many of you will have players that play professional ball and you then may understand why some people do frown upon what the Cubs did. It's not about the money but it is because as RFF points out the net worth of professional teams is beyond comprehension.

Its the same reason why free agent players hold out for as much as they can, its not about the money, its about players vs MLB ownership.

If the Cubs do not start winning, Bryant is never going to make a long term deal with them, so why not just hold onto him for as long as you can.

As far as what he did today, he is probably getting thrown a lot of junk and he is a bit apprehensive with all the hype.

 

It's a long season.  I'm sure he'll be fine.  Probably a low blow on my part.  I shouldn't have mentioned it.

       
       
I am a sox fan...  keep the low blows comin'

I thought I was getting a raw deal one time. Then I realized I had sat down at the sushi bar.

The Padres Advance Scouts earned their money today.

 

Bob