UPDATE (11:15 p.m. ET) — The Chicago Cubs aren’t waiting around.
Kris Bryant will be in the team’s starting lineup Friday night when it takes on the San Diego Padres, according to FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi.
ORIGINAL STORY: The wait is over. Kris Bryant is going to play with the big boys.
The Chicago Cubs will promote the 23-year-old third baseman from Triple-A Iowa on Friday, a source told ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers on Thrusday night. Bryant will take the roster spot of Mike Olt, who will go on the disabled list with a wrist injury, according to Rogers.
Bryant, taken by the Cubs with the second overall pick in the 2013 MLB draft, put up eye-popping numbers in spring training this year, clubbing nine home runs in 14 games while posting an unreal 1.652 OPS.
Yet those gaudy stats weren’t enough to land the top prospect a spot on Chicago’s Opening Day roster, as the Cubs controversially assigned him to Triple-A Iowa to start the 2015 season. If Bryant spent 12 or more days in the minors, Chicago could delay his free agency by one year to after the 2021 season. The move received harsh criticism from agent Scott Boras and the MLB Players’ Assocation.
Bryant now has served his time in the minors, and he certainly has made the most of it. He’s batting .321 through seven games and smacked his third home run Thursday night. With Olt headed to the DL, Bryant could get the chance to spark a Cubs offense that has struggled so far this season.
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The Cubs kick off a three-game series against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field on Friday night, although it’s unclear when Bryant will make his MLB debut.
Thumbnail photo via Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports Images
