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Cubs' Ricketts Says Payroll Bump Shows "Now Is The Time," Defends Kris Bryant Decision

The Cubs enter the '15 season with $122.5M in salary commitments to this year's 40-man roster, a "raise of nearly $30 million over a year ago," according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY. The payroll bump is highlighted by the signing of free-agent P Jon Lester to a six-year, $155M contract, and Cubs Chair Tom Ricketts said, "This was a signal that, for the first time under this administration, the organization decided now is the time to put money to work on the field." Top prospect 3B Kris Bryant will not be on the field for the Cubs to start the season, but Nightengale notes if fans are upset he will begin the season in Triple-A, they "have yet to vent." The Cubs believe they are "trading three or four weeks in April for an entire season" in '21. Ricketts said, "Our fans, they understand." He added of criticism of the move from Bryant's agent, "That's Scott Boras being Scott Boras, and he has the right to have his opinion as a fan and he has the right to speak on behalf of his client as his agent. But we, as a baseball organization, have the right to decide the player's development." Meanwhile, Nightengale notes the Wrigley Field renovations during the offseason were "hardly what Ricketts and the Cubs had in mind" when they started the $575M project, but with the "harsh Chicago winter and Wrigleyville neighbors rejecting their bid to work around the clock, the ballpark won't be ready." Ricketts acknowledged that the Cubs "had talks" with the Brewers about playing their home games at Miller Park while Wrigley was being renovated. Ricketts: "We talked to Milwaukee a little bit, thinking that could have worked. We probably could have done the stadium in a much shorter time." He added, "The alternative would be to have our fans try to watch the games someplace else, and we just didn't want that to happen." Ricketts said that using U.S. Cellular Field, the crosstown White Sox' home, "wasn't a consideration, largely for logistic reasons" (USA TODAY, 3/31).

WILL MLBPA MAKE WAVES OVER BRYANT? In Chicago, Mark Gonzalez reports the MLBPA yesterday criticized the Cubs' decision to demote Bryant to start the season. The union in a statement said, "Today is a bad day for baseball. ... This decision, and other similar decisions made by clubs, will be addressed in litigation, bargaining or both." Gonzalez notes by keeping Bryant off the 25-man roster for at least 12 days starting Sunday, the Cubs "would retain Bryant's rights" through at least '21. Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein said that there "were no hard feelings" toward Boras for his comments earlier this month regarding the team's handling of Bryant. Epstein: "Scott was doing his job for his player. I control only what I can control, which is how the organization handles things, what we say publicly" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/31). FOXSPORTS.com's Jon Paul Morosi noted MLBPA leadership clearly is "ready to make an issue of service-time manipulation for top prospects." Morosi: "But what about the MLBPA membership?" Bryant "is not currently a member" of the union. The MLBPA is "likely to advocate for a Kris Bryant Rule, in some form, when the current CBA expires" after the '16 season. But at some point, MLBers "will ask themselves: Is this really worth jeopardizing those two decades of labor peace?" (FOXSPORTS.com, 3/30).

TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY: ESPN.com's David Schoenfield wrote under the header, "Cubs Decide Not To Field Their Best Team On Opening Day." By demoting Bryant to Triple-A, the Cubs are telling their players that '21 "is more important" than '15. Schoenfield: "What kind of message is that sending?" The analytics and financials "say this is the right decision," and the impact of not having Bryant in the majors for a few weeks "is minimal." But the team has "sold out their fans on this one." Bryant "should start the season in the majors, 2021 be damned" (ESPN.com, 3/30). In Chicago, Barry Rozner writes it is "understandable that Cubs fans are disappointed they won't see Bryant sooner," just as it is understandable when Boras advocates for his client and the MLBPA "feigns shock and outrage." What is "inexplicable remains the inability of some portion of the fan base and media to understand the very simple concept that having a player for seven years is better than having a player for six years" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 3/31).

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