Pay Increase For Minor Leaguers, Bryant Ready To Strap It On And More Cubs Notes

Kris Bryant with an unintentional hilarious quote from Cubs camp.

And strapping it on must be a theme for the 2020 Cubs because recently signed Jason Kipnis is ready to do the same as he competes for a roster spot at second base during spring training.

All right, on to some actual Cubs news. The organization is increasing pay for minor leaguers this season according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.

Via the Chicago Tribune.

Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts took the initiative to authorize the salary increases, the source said. Those raises will kick in ahead of MLB’s plan to increase minor-league salaries for the 2021 season, according to a report Friday by the Associated Press.
All Cubs minor-leaguers playing under the terms of their first-year contracts will receive a raise ranging from $112 to $295 a week, depending on their level and year of professional ball. The average player will receive a raise of about $200 a week, which equates to an average increase of about 50%, with players at the lower-minor-league levels (below Double A) receiving an average increase of about 75%.

It's a good start, but there's certainly more that needs to be done to improve the living standards that minor leaguers currently have to deal with.

We might be seeing some magic from El Mago on bunt plays this year.

The Cubs infield is pretty much set except of course at second base, where four guys are competing for the starting job in David Bote, Jason Kipnis, Daniel Descalso and Nico Hoerner.

The Cubs brought their pups to camp.

Kris Bryant had a 1-on-1 talk with Theo Epstein Sunday and now he feels pretty good about his immediate future with the team after all the trade rumors this offseason.

https://www.sportsmockery.com/2020/02/kris-bryant-expects-to-be-with-cubs-on-opening-day-after-talking-with-theo-epstein/

Jon Lester ripped MLB commissioner Rob Manfred after calling the World Series trophy "a piece of metal."

https://www.sportsmockery.com/2020/02/jon-lester-calls-out-the-trash-can-of-a-commissioner-that-is-rob-manfred/

Manfred later apologized.

Oh and during Manfred's Tuesday night press conference he also said this.

Crane Kenney giving some Marquee updates.

The network launches this Saturday. Opening Day is on March 26. The clock is ticking.

Finally, Joe Maddon keeps getting asked about the Cubs.

For the last time, it was time for a change.