MESA, Ariz. (AP) – Third baseman Kris Bryant was reassigned by the Chicago Cubs to their minor league camp on Monday despite an outstanding spring training at the plate, triggering a threat of litigation from the players’ association.
Bryant hit .425 in the exhibition season with nine homers and 15 RBIs in 40 at-bats. If the 23-year-old spends 12 or more days in the minor leagues, Chicago would delay him from becoming eligible for free agency by one year, until after the 2021 season, according to baseball’s collective bargaining agreement.
“Today is a bad day for baseball,” the Major League Baseball Players Association said in a statement. “I think we all know that even if Kris Bryant were a combination of the greatest players to play our game, and perhaps he will be before it’s all said and done, the Cubs still would have made the decision they made today. This decision, and other similar decisions made by clubs will be addressed in litigation, bargaining or both.”
Major League Baseball defended the Cubs’ decision.
“In accordance with long established practice under the Basic Agreement, a club has an unfettered right to determine which players are part of its opening-day roster,” MLB said in a statement. “This issue was discussed extensively in bargaining in 2011, and the principle was not changed. We do not believe that it is appropriate for the players’ association to make the determination that Kris Bryant should be on the Cubs’ 25-man roster while another player, who, unlike Bryant, is a member of its bargaining unit, should be cut or sent to the minor leagues.”