Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant already spent some of his down time this spring scanning the off days on the early season schedule and trying to figure out where to squeeze extra time with his wife and baby son due a week or so into the season.
“It’s kind of hard to plan it all out because you never know,” he said barely a week ago. “But Theo did tell me to take as much time as I need.”
If there’s an upside for any of the Cubs in baseball’s shutdown of spring training and delayed start of the season over coronavirus precautions, it might be the timing for Bryant – who suddenly is afforded rare extended in-season family time with his first child on the way.