Could the Chicago Cubs trading Luis Valbuena be a sign?

Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room. The slugging, seemingly unstoppable (at least in the minors) Kris Bryant. Most, if not all Chicago Cubs’ fans know who he is. If you don’t, I suppose I should welcome you to the bandwagon, and it’s nice to have you. There are sky high expectations for the young man who hit .325 with 43 home runs and 110 RBIs between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa, but when he will arrive in Chicago is still a question.

Did the trade of Luis Valbuena just tip the Cubs’ hand?

More from Cubbies Crib

• Alec Mills shocked Cubs fans, baseball world with 2020 no-hitter
• Cubs: After season of adjustments, Seiya Suzuki primed for monster 2023
• Projecting the 2023 Cubs Opening Day lineup
• Cubs among likeliest landing spots for superstar shortstops
• Cubs: 2022 season a ‘success,’ according to Tom Ricketts

The widespread belief, thanks in part to the speculation created by Bryant’s success, is that he won’t be till about a month after the season starts, to prevent his free agent clock from starting. While this is business savvy, if he’s ready, let’s do this. But there’s a catch-22 to all of this, and not just with Bryant but the rest of the rookies – from last season to the guys that will make their debut this year. High expectations, and the pressure that comes with it.

The timing for the Cubs dictated the moves. It started with Darwin Barney and a paternity leave, leading to Arismendy Alcantara being called up. He never left, Barney was traded, and the rookie flood gates were opened. Last year, Alcantara, as well as Javier Baez and Jorge Soler arrived with no expectations for the team. They were in last place, and we just wanted to see what they could do.

All had flashes of brilliance, but Baez continued to be all-or-nothing – more nothing, – and Alcantara struggled overall. Soler had the most success of the three but his sample was a bit smaller. This year the expectations are to win the division, and all of these young players will be looked upon to help lead them. and Bryant is the crown jewel in most people’s eye.

We’ve delved into who would start at third with Bryant expected to start the year at Triple-A. And at the time I didn’t consider Tommy La Stella, because he has primarily been a second baseman, and expecting every infield to have an arm to play third isn’t realistic. But now that the front-runner Valbuena is gone, does this mean the Cubs will consider Bryant as the Opening Night third baseman if he wins the job out of camp?

The possibility seems to becoming more realistic with each day. With the additions the Cubs have made with Jon Lester and Miguel Montero, and now Dexter Fowler, they seemed to be taking a more win now approach then they are willing to let on. Or maybe they feel bad the bleachers won’t be finished, and it’s a classic misdirection away from that issue.

I can overlook 13 games without bleachers to see Bryant make his debut on ESPN against alongside Lester and Joe Maddon. What are your thoughts? Share them with us here, Twitter or Facebook.