With free agency looming in November, Kris Bryant has likely already played his last game as a Cub. The 29-year-old sports a 132 wRC+ in 374 plate appearances this year, and has shown versatility in playing at least 80 innings at both infield corners and all three outfield positions. With a $19.5MM salary on the season, Bryant is still owed about $6.5MM this year. The 2016 NL MVP winner seems quite likely to be traded today, if the Cubs can muster up a return better than a compensatory draft pick. We’ll put the latest Bryant updates right here…
Latest Updates
- The Giants and Bryant “are one pairing to watch,” tweets Jon Morosi of MLB Network. The Cubs are making trades left and right, sending Craig Kimbrel to the White Sox and Javier Baez to the Mets today.
Earlier Updates
- “It’s not a sure thing that [the] Cubs trade Bryant at all,” tweets Andy Martino of SNY. That would certainly qualify as a surprise.
- The Rays are talking with the Cubs about both Bryant and Craig Kimbrel, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Rosenthal notes that the Cubs may not necessarily package the two together, and a deal does not appear to be close.
- The Mets and Cubs “remain apart in Kris Bryant talks,” tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
Boras will be pissed if KB is not traded. He will be, but if he isn’t, he’ll have to deal with a QO.
A QO for player like Bryant is not going to be a factor for teams signing him.
Think they’re referring to if he’s not traded. Cubs would certainly offer a QO.
It’s still not going to effect his market is what Chris is saying. KB is a superstar that will get a huge payday with or without a draft pick attached to his contract
Cubs would absolutely extend a QO, but as Chris said, it won’t phase a FA like KB or his market. Boras knows his client is signing a monster deal this winter regardless of what happens in the next few hours. QO hurts fringe stars, middle of the road FA’s, not someone like KB.
Superstar?
Monster by whose standards? massive? Probably but a Harper or Betts deal? Not that I can see. I just don’t see those years and money for a non-pitcher who is great but not a once I. a lifetime type talent.
The QO will put a drag on his market. Boras will also do some of the dragging himself.
Maybe, maybe not. He said he would be willing to resign with the Cubs if traded. This does give them a leg up in negotiations as any offer they make him if matched by a competitor is more expensive for that competitor. But that only matters if the Cubs are contemplating resigning him on a large deal, if they are just offering a one year QO then it won’t really matter.
Nobody is talking about a Harper/Betts/Machado deal. Bryant will land a deal between Springer and that bunch.
Probably closer to Springer, but that is not inconsequential.
False
Correct. I don’t foresee KB at the same level as Harper either. He is streaky, and injury prone, and until this year he was never one you count on in the clutch.. Out of all of the Cubs ‘core’ players from the ’16 team, Bryant was the lowest on my no-trade list. Anthojny Rizzo was the one I hoped they would keep. He was THE team leader, and everything he did was for the team, never for himself. He’s been a goof friend to the fans who embraced him, and I’m guessing most of the teams in the NL would consider him an extremely likable man. Since they were only a mediocre, sub 500 team at the All Star break, I’d say we will go back to the late 70’s and early 80’s. Plus, I don;t think Uncle Jed Hoyer has nearly as much baseball savvy as Theo Epstein, and Ross is still an untested rookie talent.
Kris Bryant is wildly overrated as a player
I would like to see if Dodgers can package Bryant and Kimbrel for Lux, Pollock, Jansen, and one prospect. That would be fair, but wishful thinking.
Pollock has been one of your best hitters this year
Ok with everyone except Pollock. He needs an extension not a trade!
Cubs won’t take Jansen who might be a 10/5 guy.
I feel like we are playing with house money with Pollock…just seems like he is due for an injury
Why wouldn’t they take Jansen if it means a better return?
jansen will refuse it if he is indeed a 10/5 guy
The Mets traded for Stroman last year and he was offered a QO.
That’s not accurate. The Mets acquired Stroman in 2019 and he sat out all of last year.
If the Giants want to really go for it this year (which I’m still not entirely sure they do) this is the trade they need to make. Kimbrel and Bryant would definitely help them down the stretch and I honestly feel Bart is expendable.
Giants don’t appear to be in at all , but as Cubs fan I like your assets as well
The Cubs won’t get Bart for Bryant. They’d be extremely lucky if they get a borderline top 100 prospect.
@Dixon Miaz oh don’t get it twisted I meant Bart as a centerpiece for BOTH Kimbrel AND Bryant. If they gave up Bart for only one of them that’s be dumb
Like Nationals dumb?
I think if you can make it happen with an extra lower tier prospect to keep Bart you do that, otherwise since Kimbrel is controlled through next year albeit at 16 mil at least your not giving up Bart if that were the case for pure rentals. Kimbrel wasn’t likely in the plans this season, but he can help if the giants play this well again next season. Big IF since their entire rotation minus Webb are free agents, I wouldn’t mind them working Cueto’s option into a multi year at much lower AAV. Say like 3 for 30.
Typical SFG MO-wait until all the good stuff is gone then shop for crumbs.
This Giants fan is disgusted.
@heinie manush honestly we weren’t even expected to compete this year so if we stay put I can stomach it BUT I do think it sends a negative message to our current players
SMFH
Disgusted at the best record in baseball?
There’s a segment of fans that are whiny spoiled and feel entitled.
Agreed. The Giants can sit tight and take out the LA/SD wild card winner.
@AndyWarpath I understand the current frustration (although there’s still 3 hours left). Zaidi is thinking bigger picture HOWEVER this Giants team has the best record in baseball and we have a ton of room to add talent this year. Basically short term vs long term and a lot of fans are more short sighted. Personally I think they could improve this team and not sacrificing the future
Wirthington – a segment? Like 99%!
Fan since 2014, eh ?
The Giants…..haha. The Los Angeles Dodgers added Scherzer, Turner and Duffy yesterday while the Giants added ZERO
Still in second place with only 3 head to head matchups left against the Giants anything can happen
Be humble. There are still three hours until the deadline and the Giants haven’t shown any indication of slowing down. Talking trash in July can lead to feeling stupid in October.
This goes true for Giants fans too tbh. Fact is they’re CURRENTLY the two best teams in the NL and this just helps the rivalry
Agree CeyHey.
Yep. Only cost you half your farm. You guys are terrified because you’ve lost 5/7 of our last meetings, lol. I guess you had to, because you aren’t winning the division with the team you rolled out yesterday.
Gee, bly is it? For the season Dodgers won 8, Giants won 8. And, obviously, the Dodgers are not winning the division with yesterday’s team, idiot! Betts ans Seager on IL, as is Kershaw.
Stop making IL excuses.
you’re dimmer than I thought
Yes, bly really is.
You can add all you want you still aren’t going to win a championship because it’s not a shortened COVID season @2020Worldchampions
Less than 3 hours to go…
Not sure it makes sense to deal for a rental now, especially after that the Dodgers just pulled off. But who knows. Maybe a guy like Bryant keeps them close, crazier things have happened.
Bart is lookin like a walking K
So the rays are trying to Jack up the price for Bryant, meanwhile the giants are trying to do the same for story? Both working with the Cubs to try and better their own deals.
I really don’t think that happens much. These FO execs are too worried about their own teams to be jacking up the price for others.
Thank the lord as Cubs fan rays have a real strong farm system while Mets aren’t willing to trade anything worthwhile,! Nobody wants jd davis or dom smirh
Davis is the next Turner. If he can learn to play passable defense, he can sit in the middle of the batting order on a really good team. The man can hit.
Now he is the next mark Reynolds! Keep him
I do. I’d take either or both.
Well trade Zach wheeler for them ( Mets would do it ) nobody else wants dom smith or jd Davis.
Wheeler warrants a much higher return than 2 months of Bryant, but to your point I imagine the Cubs are looking for prospects.
Just actual talent !
I’d take Davis on the Cubs
No you wouldn’t lol ! He has no position an he’s diabetic ! Don’t be a contrarian if we trade Bryant we want young talent ,
Jed Hoyer’s trades so far have been awful.
The only bad trade he has made so far is the Tepera trade IMO. I still don’t get why we got so little for him when the Nats got much more for Daniel Hudson.
Really? And sending our best pitcher and probably our best catcher to the Padres for NOBODY, releasing Schwarber, not signing Castellanos……wake up Rickets and find a baseball person to replace Hoyer.
@medicineman, you don’t get it. THE problem IS Ricketts.
Best catcher? Caratini?? Owen Cassie is tearing it up, Preciado too
This qualifies for dumbest comment of the year. Best catcher…Caratini you’re an idiot.
Excellent comment Bgoat re the return for Tepera. I’d rather the Cubs kept him, rather than trading him for so little. I also don’t think it’d be horrible if they kept Kimbrel until the off season, rather than taking a low return.
I hated giving the Sox anything but a 6’2 lefty with four pitches and can hit 98 on the radar might turn out well.
Hoyer has had an outstanding deadline and he isn’t nearly done. Fangraphs has their farm at 10 now, was 18 this time last week. And still climbing.
I prefer the Bryant/ kimbrel move over the story move
If the Cubs want a playbook on what to do just watch the Nationals and Rizzo. One foot in one foot out doesn’t do you any good.
But that’s what it’s all about.
Nationals had a lot of players that teams wanted, Mike Rizzo has done well to get solid returns for all of them.
So do the Cubs. Kimbrel, Bryant, Baez Contreras all very desirable players. You could make a mild case for keeping Contreras. The rest should be dealt.
Maybe the Giants take on bad contract (Hayward) or part of, from the Cubs to land Bryant and Kimbrel? That way they don’t lose Bart?
Or, maybe Zaidi doesn’t want to deal with Boras, especially after being used by Harper to get the Phillies to add more years/$ ?
Either way, Giants fans are going to feel disappointed if their front office sends the message that they are not committed to winning this year?
Neither of them are bad contracts. Bryant is worth every penny this season and Kimbrel is pretty affordable for what he brings.
I was referring to Heyward. I thought for sure Zaidi would go get Bryant, because of his versatility.
Who knows what’s happening behind the scenes..
Good call maybe they wanna move that heyward contract! Kimbrel Bryant plus heyward and however much you wanna pay gets you this much of the giants solid farm!
Jason Heyward just winked at you from across the bar.
hard to be consistently competitive in this league if you A. hold grudges and B. refuse to deal with Boras
Giants are loaded they don’t need Bryant and Kimbrel
Really? Loaded?
I’m guessing by your name that this is sarcasm, I’ve hated watching 1 pitch McGee go out in the 9th and throw his Fastball over and over, they just started working in his slider because he was getting hit hard. As for Rogers I also hesitate because it’s all deception, I feel good hitters aren’t fooled by deception as often as pure stuff. At a fair cost I would love to see high caliber leverage pitcher in the 9th. Maybe Moronta will be the only injection though.
I have a question for Cub fans. Since they’re tearing the team down and starting over why don’t they just bite the bullet and DFA Heyward already? He ain’t ever going to get better and they know it
I suspect that will happen at some point.
Don’t hold your breath. Ricketts is as cheap as Reinsdorf.
There is a HUGE gap between not worth 21 million a year to not being worth a roster spot at league minimum. Players can close the gap. I saw Fowler do it with the Cardinals. But it’s tough…..
They’re not fully rebuilding. They have a lot of $ for free agency. But I’m all for paying off Heyward
They will by the deadline next year.
The MLB should have a cap that you can’t go over like the NFL!!! So we don’t have loaded rich teams like all the CAL teams!!!
Every team is rich. Not the west coast teams fault your billionaire doesn’t want to spend.
As if the good old days when the Yankees won every year was better. Like you indicated, all teams can afford star players. And they all can afford to sink money into scouting and player development.
It is AWFUL!
Sus, which team do you root for?
May not happen, but getting Bryant is the kind of under-the-radar move Anthopoulos specializes in.
Rays Up!
AA needs to sweep in and make one of those last minute big deals and grab both Kimbrel and Bryant. Give the Cubs, Pache, Waters, Davidson, and two others.
Bryant to Boston, please!
Hear me out: Eddie and Richards are definitely gone after this year. Xander is probably leaving after next year. JD too. Plus it’s Eovaldi’s last year.
Whitlock and Houck into the rotation. Move Devers to 1B in the offseason, and move Bryant back to 3B. Or hell they can split time since 3B-man always seem to get hurt.
Only way I see it going down is the Rays give the Cubs a bunch of good prospects and Cubs pay a good portion of the money owed.
Brujan/Walls for Kimbrel/Bryant ???
The Rays don’t need Brujan or Walls, and they dropped Castillo. So I think it’s a done deal.
Up to Cubs
You can’t be serious.
I like getting Bryant also but for none of those reasons he can play first base which is what we need , and the Redsox should get Gibson and Ian Kennedy
Well that’s a wasted post!
Giants should he asking about both….
If the Giants stand pat, I have faith
Me too
If the Cubs trade Rizzo but keep Bryant, that will be a tough sell for the fanbase.
Love Bryant but I’d rather they kept Rizzo.
If you think the QO is affecting Bryant in major ways then idk what to say besides wrong.
Looks like Bryzzo is reunited with the Yankees. That’s what I just saw on Twitter. Unfortunately Yankees don’t have anyone.
Has to be the maddest deadline day ever.
A rental….