Look, I think we can all agree with Ken Rosenthal: a system that encourages the Cubs to leave Kris Bryant in the minors for two more weeks is both regrettable and embarrassing. And doesn't make any sense!
In a vacuum, that is. Since it's a system that nobody really admires, everybody would change it ... except as Ken points out in detail, the devil's in the details, which to this point have been daunting. Before getting into those details just a little bit, though, one brief moment for a caveat: In the grand scheme, this really doesn't matter a great deal.
Was our great union threatened when Evan Longoria spent the first two weeks of his rookie season in the minors? Not that I can recall. Longoria still was Rookie of the Year, he's now a very wealthy young man ... and oh yeah, the Rays wound up in the World Series. That's the other thing. The difference between two weeks of Kris Bryant and two weeks of Mike Olt and Tommy LaStella is barely measurable.
Public relations-wise, this would be a blip. Performance-wise, it's a trifle. It's just not nearly as important as it might seem now, in the fiery cauldron of spring training.
Should something be done? Ideally, of course. Because as baseball fans, we want to see him on Opening Day. Could something be done? Sure. It's just going to require some horse-trading, and maybe some sort of delay so whichever team has the next Kris Bryant doesn't think it's getting screwed.
Of course I want to see Bryant on Day 1. He's an impressive young man. But if I have to wait a couple of weeks, that's okay too. I'm a big boy now.
