March 31--MESA, Ariz. -- The Chicago Cubs reassigned slugger Kris Bryant to minor-league camp Monday, prompting protests from the Major League Baseball Players Association.
The Cubs also optioned second baseman Javier Baez to Triple-A Iowa and sent shortstop Addison Russell to minor league camp.
Bryant hit nine home runs -- tops among all spring training players -- and batted .423 but has yet to play a full season at Triple-A Iowa
"His performance mattered," Cubs President Theo Epstein said. "He made a great first impression on (manager) Joe (Maddon) and clearly demonstrated to everyone -- including us -- that he's very close to being not just in the big leagues but to be playing an important role on the team. His camp mattered.
"We're more likely to get him sooner rather than later at this point with how he's playing and how close he showed. But we are going to afford him the same luxury we tend to afford most, if not all, of our young players. Just go off and get into the rhythm of the season and play and (you) will get here quickly."
Bryant, through a team spokesman, declined to comment. The MLBPA, however, issued a statement questioning the Cubs' motives. By sending Bryant to Iowa for at least 12 days starting Sunday, the Cubs would have him under their control for seven years instead of six.
"Today is a bad day for baseball," the MLBPA said in a series of tweets. "We all know that if @KrisBryant_23 were a combination of the greatest players to play our great game, and perhaps he will before it's all said and done, the @Cubs still would have made the decision they made today. This decision, and other similar decisions will be addressed in litigation, bargaining or both."
Scott Boras, Bryant's agent, called it "Ersatz Baseball."
"MLB is not the MLB without the best players," Boras said in a text message to The Associated Press. "Kris excelled at every level and earned the right of entry. The CBA is at the apogee of wrongs incentivizing clubs to create a product less than best. Bryant's situation is the badge for change to the CBA player service structure."
Epstein and Maddon said there was a healthy debate on whether to keep Baez or send him down to work on cutting down on his strikeouts. Baez batted .173 with 20 strikeouts.
"I think we all agree that Javy is an extremely talented player and is going to be a big part of this organization for a long time," Epstein said. "He does so many things well on a baseball field. But we also agree all of us this was the right move. Right now he's so close to getting it figured out in the batter's box. We just feel Triple-A is the right forum for him to continue to make those adjustments and get locked in.
"He does everything else so well on the baseball field. He's a winning baseball player. He's just got to take that same mindset into the batter's box, and it's a slight adjustment, it's a little tweak to his approach. We feel he's not far from making it. We have his back 100 percent. But we feel like he needs those at-bats at Iowa to get it figured out."
Regarding Russell, who will be the starting shortstop at Iowa, "I couldn't tell him what to work on," Maddon said. "He's that accomplished at that age (21), so I just told him to keep doing what you're doing.''
With Baez demoted, left-handed hitter Tommy La Stella and Arismendy Alcantara are the top candidates to play second base. Epstein said it's highly unlikely the Cubs will make a trade with Sunday's season opener against the Cardinals approaching.
