Cubs, White Sox Wednesday spring-training report

Midway through last season, when the Cubs were still breaking in their postgame “party room” at Wrigley Field, Kris Bryant made a staggering promise.

Protocol dictated that Cubs victories would be toasted with shots of whiskey. Bryant would have his shot glass filled with apple juice. And after one Cubs victory at Wrigley Field, Bryant revealed his secret.

“Guys, let’s win the World Series,” Bryant shouted to the room. “And when we do, I’ll have my first sip of alcohol.”

“Then it became the running joke in the clubhouse,” said Bryant’s wife, Jess. ” ‘We have to win just for Kris!’ ”

These tidbits come courtesy of a wonderful Bryant profile from Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci. The story was posted this week and is the regional cover for SI’s annual baseball preview, which is due to be on newsstands March 27.

Verducci has put together one of the most revealing and detailed profiles done on Bryant, the 2013 College Player of the Year, the 2014 Minor League Player of the Year, the 2015 National League Rookie of the Year and the 2016 NL Most Valuable Player.

If you thought you knew Bryant before, you’ll have a whole new perspective on the Cubs’ third baseman who is still developing as a major-leaguer.

The story talks about Bryant’s straight-A background, his dedication to hitting and shows how he cut his strikeout percentage from 31 to 22 last season.

Among the many gems from Verducci:

–In their Sam Bowie moment of infamy, the Astros took Stanford pitcher Mark Appel with the first pick of the 2013 draft, leaving Kris Bryant, coming off his junior year at the University of San Diego, for the Cubs.

–Every time Bryant swings, he tries to hit the bottom third of the ball, the key to creating the backspin that explains why his fly balls carry more than other hitters’.

–Anthony Rizzo found two flaws in Kris Bryant, and now is the time to reveal them. “Number one, he wears way too much free stuff,” Rizzo says. “Number two, we need to get him out more. Seriously, he’s a homebody.”

Check out Verducci’s story, even if you’re not a Cubs fan.

A LITTLE SZCZUR

Outfielder Matt Szczur has been locked in a battle with Tommy La Stella for essentially the last spot on the Cubs’ final roster. With the Cubs expected to break camp with 13 pitchers, only one of the two between La Stella and Szczur will end camp with a job.

That has ramped up trade talk centered on Szczur, 27, a fifth-round pick by the Cubs in the 2010 draft. The Atlanta Braves, looking for some versatile backup outfield talk, have reportedly taken a keen interest in Szczur.

If Szczur is dealt, he will be missed in the Cubs’ clubhouse. You will recall that he didn’t make the cut for the Cubs’ NL Championship Series roster last fall, but his bat helped Anthony Rizzo break out of his October slump and his underwear … well, his underwear was worn by shortstop Addison Russell.

DEJESUS RETURNSComcast SportsNet Chicago lost a great analyst when Todd Hollandsworth took his talents to South Beach to handle Miami Marlins broadcasts. CSN Chicago moved quickly, signing David DeJesus as his replacement.

As our Gordon Wittenmyer pointed out this morning, DeJesus was the first free agent signed by the Cubs under Theo Epstein in the fall of 2011 and was an early mentor for first baseman Anthony Rizzo.

Nice move by CSN.

FUTURE WATCH

The pipeline of position title seems almost endless for the Cubs. We have already gotten a nice glimpse of Albert Almora Jr. and we like what we’ve seen.

Wittenmyer describes Almora, the first player drafted by Theo Epstein’s front office in 2012, has a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder.

Check out Gordon’s profile on Almora, who appears poised to be an impact player for the Cubs.

WINTER MEETINGS EROur old pal Chuck Wasserstrom — the former Cubs front office ex — keeps churning out interesting copy for his blog. The latest details the story behind the story behind the story of Jim Hendry’s dramatic signing of Ted Lilly at the 2006 winter meetings. Whew. That’s a lot of looking behind the scenes.

I vividly recall the chaotic scene in the lobby of the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Fla. There was a giant Christmas tree parked in the middle of the lobby, with baseball executives, agents and reporters buzzing around it, trading rumors about Hendry leaving after suffering from chest pains.

The Cubs were engaged in tense talks to land Lilly, one of the coveted arms on the market, and a trip to the emergency room was happening at a really bad time. The Blue Jays and Royals were battling with the Cubs over Lilly. While hooked up to an EKH machine, Hendry got Lilly’s agent to agree to a four-year, $40 million contract.

Check out Chuck’s post on one of the more interesting offseason nights in Cubs history.

ON THE SOUTH SIDEThere has been a lot of talk from White Sox camp about the future. General manager Rick Hahn, fresh off signing shortstop Tim Anderson to a record contract, took some time to size up his top prospects for this post from Daryl Van Schouwen.

Five of the Sox’ top prospects were cut Tuesday: Second baseman Yoan Moncada and right-handers Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Carson Fulmer were optioned to AAA Charlotte and Michael Kopech was reassigned to minor league camp.

Hahn had interesting insights on all five. Check out the post here.

SHIELDS SHINESVeteran pitcher James Shields remains on a mission to win over Sox fans.

According to Van Schouwen, Shields looked about as good as has in a White Sox uniform Tuesday night, pitching six scoreless innings against the Rangers.

AROUND THE HORN ON TWITTER