Kris Bryant's Cubs Debut Looks To Be Coming Soon
By Chris Emma-
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Injuries to Tommy La Stella and Mike Olt have the Cubs in need of help at third base, where Arismendy Alcantara is filling in.
Could a potential answer come in the form of the Cubs' top prospect, Kris Bryant?
"Maybe," Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said Monday. "We'll see. We'll just weigh all the factors."
The top-ranked prospect according to Baseball America, Bryant was sent to Triple-A Iowa after a stellar spring training in which he led all of baseball with nine homers. In Double-A and Triple-A last season, he hit a combined 43 home runs and batted .325.
The Cubs will have contract control of Bryant through 2021 rather than 2020 if he waits until after Friday's game to make his debut, but after that, his debut may come quickly.
"His performance obviously last year and during spring training showed that he's really close, and that we're probably more likely to get him sooner rather than later," Epstein said. "They just started, though. We're trying to get him into a good rhythem there. But we'll see. His developments will be an important factor, and then the needs of the big league team as well."
In his first four games with Iowa, Bryant went 5-for-16 with two home runs coming over the weekend. Meanwhile, the Cubs are 3-2 entering Monday's game with the Cincinnati Reds.
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