The Nationals are among the teams with interest in Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). There will certainly be plenty of other suitors for the former NL MVP, who might wind up being the top player traded over the next two weeks.
Indeed, the Nats aren’t the only team in the NL East reportedly looking into a Bryant acquisition. The division-leading Mets were linked to the four-time All-Star last night. On the surface, New York looks to be a more obvious deadline buyer than Washington, who enters tonight’s game with a 42-47 record. In fact, Bryant’s current club is actually a game and a half above the Nats in the Wild Card race.
That said, the Nationals haven’t been shy about trying to make a playoff push when the opportunity presents itself under general manager Mike Rizzo. They’re six games back of the Mets (albeit with the Phillies and Braves also ahead of them) in a division where no teams have separated themselves from the pack. Washington has a difficult three-game series against the Padres this weekend, but that’s followed by dates with the Marlins and Orioles next week, which could give them an opportunity to make up some ground in the standings.
If the Nationals do look to add to the big league roster in the coming weeks, third base is an obvious area to upgrade. Washington has gotten below-average production (.280/.333/.369) at the hot corner over the course of the year, where nearly all of the playing time has gone to Starlin Castro. Castro was placed on administrative leave this afternoon as Major League Baseball investigates domestic violence allegations made against him. Jordy Mercer started at third base tonight in Washington’s first game out of the All-Star Break.
Bryant, of course, would be an upgrade over most teams’ third base situations. The 29-year-old has bounced back from a poor 2020 campaign to hit at an excellent .271/.353/.502 level with sixteen home runs over 329 plate appearances. He’s tailed off after a scorching start to the year, but Bryant’s overall body of work is one of the better ones in the sport.
Of the 231 hitters to accrue 200+ plate appearances in 2021, Bryant is tied for 40th with a 132 wRC+. Relative to last season, he’s drawing more walks, striking out less often and making a higher rate of hard contact. Bryant hasn’t regained the MVP-caliber form he showed early in his career, but his All-Star selection in 2021 was certainly deserved.
The general expectation is that Bryant will wind up on the move between now and the July 30 trade deadline. Cubs president Jed Hoyer suggested last week the team would listen to offers for players on their big league roster on the heels of an 11-game losing streak. They traded outfielder Joc Pederson to the Braves — a team with which the Cubs are ostensibly in competition for a Wild Card berth — for first base prospect Bryce Ball last night. And while Chicago’s reportedly planning to engage in extension talks with first baseman Anthony Rizzo and shortstop Javier Báez before the trade deadline, there’s no indication that’s the case with Bryant.
One potential obstacle to a Bryant trade is salary. He signed a $19.5MM deal to avoid arbitration over the winter, approximately $8.3MM of which remains to be paid. The Nationals typically run higher than average payrolls, and their $183MM estimated figure (per Cot’s Baseball Contracts) for this season is about $14MM shy of the franchise’s 2019 outlay. That could suggest there’s room on the books for Bryant, although it remains to be seen if ownership’s keen on making such an investment in a team that entered play tonight with a meager 2.8% chance of making the playoffs, in FanGraphs’ estimation.
The other important potential roadblock to a deal that sends Bryant to the nation’s capital is the Nationals’ thin farm system. Certainly, every team in the league could put together a prospect package sufficient to land Bryant, who’ll be a free agent at season’s end. But Heyman hears that the Nats don’t want to trade their top two prospects, right-handed pitchers Cade Cavalli and Jackson Rutledge.
If that’s the case, it could be difficult for the Nationals to beat the market for Bryant. Infielder Yasel Antuna is the only other player in the system who garners a 45 FV ranking or better from Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein of FanGraphs, and he’s hitting .191/.269/.347 in High-A this year. First-round pick Brady House will certainly vault near the top of the organizational rankings once he signs a professional contract, but 2021 draftees can’t be traded until next offseason. Perhaps the Cubs would have interest in former top prospect Carter Kieboom, but his stock has dimmed amidst some struggles at the big league level and he’s currently on the minor league injured list with a knee issue.
It stands to reason more teams will join the Nationals and Mets as having reported interest in Bryant in the coming weeks. The Cubs look primed to be one of the deadline’s most active sellers, and Bryant’s production and laundry list of accolades will make him perhaps the highest-profile player on the trade market.
Al Hirschen
Kris Bryant will be a New York Mets
Doug Dascenzo
Not if he’s a Washington Nationals.
NoRegretzkys
Not if he is a Toronto Blue Jay
Doug Dascenzo
Dammit CJ you messed it up.
richdanna
Blue Jays, dammit!
BLUE JAYS!!!!!
jdgoat
He’s quite obviously going crosstown to become a Chicago White Sox’s
ChiSox_Fan
Maybe to White Sox this winter.
Not trading players away for him.
Adios pelota!
Huh thats a funny way to spell San Francisco Giants
dugmet
Mets offered Robinson Cano’s contract? 2years/$48m
Dogbone
Ante up fellas.
paindonthurt
Isn’t that plural?
Oldschoolandthemets1980
I would love to see it,but I just dont see them pulling that move. With our luck they will acquire Asdrubal Cabrera again and call it a successful trade deadline lol.
oldtimer
I’m ready for all the talk to turn into action. Bryant is gone. Rizzo isn’t worth a big contract anymore, and Baez won’t be happy losing. If Contreras is good with young pitchers keep him and if you could get value for Hendricks move him but if not keep him. Hoping this rebuild is for real.
PutPeteinthehall
I’d give Baez a qualifying offer and see what happens. Rizzo would be heading to the Red Sox if they weren’t already at the cap. Hendricks earns his pay and then some. He’s a keeper. Contreras is a free agent after 22 and they are preparing his replacement.
Dogbone
Baez would jump all over a qualifying offer. I’m not sure he deserves that much in total, for two years.
Deleted_User
That’s fine.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
They need ro extend Contreras at all costs. Miguel Amaya and Willson Contreras as 1 and 2 catchers would be amazing. Extend Willson to at least 6 years.
tstats
No what no don’t give him 6 years
1984wasntamanual
He’s already 29 and he’s really not that good…why are you extending him for 6 more years? You have some of the most ridiculous ideas for what the cubs should do.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
Best cact catcher in baseball if not certainly he’s top 3.
adkuchan
Would not trade Hendricks. He is a guy who is likely to pitch well for quite some time. He doesn’t rely on spin rate or velocity. Just location and change of speed. Guys like him can often pitch until their 40.
Colt 45
agree
Fred K. Burke
Hendricks reminds of Jamie Moyer. A guy who pitched into his early 40’s with some success.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
Plus he leads the league with wins. I think he won 8 or 9 straight. He had a horrid start.
believeitornot
Hendricks is signed for two more years and then an option. It would take quite a bit to get him.
PutPeteinthehall
For two months. Cohen is smarter than to pay him Lindor money and be stuck with an injured under producing player and not have flexibility financially to fill other needs. The man is having a great season and he is tied for 40th wRC+ The problem is he wants a 10 year contract that’s one of the top 10 in baseball salary wise. JD Davis might end up being the piece sent back. Along with the salary savings being spent on other players coupled with Davis the trade would be a win for the Cubs.
gbs42
Who said Bryant wants a 10- year contract? I’m sure he and his agent know what he’s targeting, but it’s not common knowledge.
ABCD
I would guess that KB and Boras would aim for a Springer-level contract (6 years, $150 million). But this will probably be dragged out until the start of spring training, likely after the CBA is agreed upon.
Al_in_Flo
Good job by the Nats to try and drive up the price for the Mets. Won’t matter at the end but as an organization it’s what your supposed to do.
YourDreamGM
Nats are contenders for the division. Not sure Bryant is the guy but they are going to add a bat and 4 starter and give it a shot.
tstats
Tonight might change that
YourDreamGM
One game? I think not.
Deleted User
I’m pretty sure at least 12 teams are interested in Kris Bryant. Hell, some KBO teams are interested. My church league softball team is interested too.
A'sfaninUK
The A’s should be in on him too, really lacking OF depth and getting bad production out of DH too. Plus if Chapman gets hurt again Bryant can still play third. Huge match but not many are talking about.
iverbure
Probably because the A’s should never be on expensive rentals. Because they can’t afford it and need to save those resources for the future.
onepaperkid
The A’s have Matt Chapman at 3d base, so no to Bryant. Trevor Story should be on the A’s radar.
Deleted_User
Jackson Rutledge and Jeremy de la Rosa, maybe…
believeitornot
Both suck.
Deleted_User
Going to preemptively comment that they can NOT include Brady House as a PTBNL in a trade for Kris Bryant. Not allowed. Period.
BRUH.SF.BRUH
Joey Bart and lower level lottery tickets for Hendricks and KB? Then the Cubs could get value for Contreras as well…I feel like that’s pretty reasonable. I’m sure some Cubs fans will be super polite to me about my proposal…
YourDreamGM
If those lower level lottery tickets are ranked 15 to 30 in the system and have huge upside.
BRUH.SF.BRUH
@YourDream – yeah I was thinking a guy in the 10-20 range (from a pretty deep farm) and maybe one of our young big league outfielders…pretty fair imo
YourDreamGM
Would take 3 10-20 guys and Bart or equivalent. They received 4 of those guys and a player they could use and then trade for another prospect for Darvish.
BRUH.SF.BRUH
Maybe…none of those prospects they received were ranked in anybody’s top 100 (not that that means they are bad by any means, just young) Bart is a blue chip that just happens to be blocked by a future HOFer having a bounce back year. I think Cub fans are over valuing the worth of a couple months of KB. Hendricks definitely has value on that contract though.
BRUH.SF.BRUH
Also, wasn’t Darvish 2nd in Cy Young voting last year? Small sample size, I know.
YourDreamGM
If the Giants consider Bart a blue chip they won’t trade him. Not saying they do with his swing and miss that they haven’t been able to fix. Darvish is 35 and allowed the cubs to dump 60 million in a market when teams were looking to dump salary. If anything my evaluation of what it would take is cheapest scenario. Will most likely cost more. Most the value is in Hendricks. Fans usually over value their players. I am not a fan.
onepaperkid
Okay not a fan, but your info on Bart is dated. Bart is batting over .360, with an on base % over .400 at AAA for the season, and yeah I know it ain’t the bigs, but Bart has been barreling up the ball all season. Cubs don’t need a Catcher, Giants don’t need Bryant, so the point is moot probably. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if the Giants are dangling Bart to some other teams.
1984wasntamanual
A 50fv grade is not a blue chip prospect.
Bart’s average is a fluke, he has a .437 babip and is still striking out at 29.2% in AAA. So his swing and miss is 100% still an issue.
BRUH.SF.BRUH
Thanks for the responses guys. Yeah the cubs don’t need catcher unless they intended on exploring the trade market for Contreras. The Giants could absolutely use KB this year. Lomgo isn’t coming back for a long time. He’s on the 60 day IL now and Kris can play 5 positions. Bart’s SO % is concerning. The trade idea was more about getting a quality starter under team control for several years.
Fred K. Burke
You would certainly think that multiple teams showing interest in Kris Bryant is very favorable for the Cubs moving forward. Hopefully for the Cubs, with multiple teams interested, one organization may step up and over pay. It’s also believed that the Cubs would kick in some cash to get a better return. It’s going to be a very interesting next two weeks or so for the Cubs.
n2northsiders
There won’t be a fire sale
bradthebluefish
Come to the Red Sox and play 1B.
downsr30
I think it’s going to come down to these two teams, and the offers will start with JD Davis from the Mets, Kieboom from the Nationals. What prospects those two teams add to the deal will be what gets the deal done.
solaris602
Cubs would be foolish to choose Kieboom over Davis. Even if it’s just Davis and a mid-range prospect, I think that gets it done. The well is all but dry for the Nats, and their lack of depth continues to haunt them. I’m not sure they even have the prospect capital to get Colin Moran.
YourDreamGM
Terrible system but any system can get Bryant if they choose.
believeitornot
KB won’t make them winners. The Nationals are quite a bit like the Yankees. They depend too much on two guys in the lineup. – Soto and Turner. For the Yankees it is Judge and Stanton and now Judge is out because of Corona.
believeitornot
The Nationals have only three good prospects in my opinion. Cavalli, Henry and Cronin. All three are pitchers. I know they won the Series two years ago but their system should be better than this. Drew Mendoza is lost in AA.
n2northsiders
That’s funny. Bryant stays a Cub. They have lots of salary available next year and beyond
Flyby
thats an even better reason to trade him. Get prospects for a half a season of non-contention. ala yankees with chapman and torres.
Bryzzo2016
This
n2northsiders
The Cubs will resign Bryant, Rizzo & Baez.
YourDreamGM
As a Pirate fan I hope so. Unfortunately they might or probably won’t sign any of them or just Rizzo.
Deleted_User
Can I borrow your crystal ball?
oldtimer
Resigning any of the big three would not make sense at all! I’d trade all three!
Flyby
trading and resigning are exclusive unless you going to try to discount a little with a QO that might not even exist in the next cba
CrookedAsstros
This site would be better off if they didn’t report on things with the only source being Jon Heyman
Doug Dascenzo
Try and ignore MuttGarbage boy. He loves him some Jon Heyman. And he loves COVID and the vaccine and telling people to get it. He’s an all around, turd sandwich.
jakethesnizake
Nothing more than gamesmanship to drive up the price for the Mets. I fully expect the Yankees to do the exact same thing on any player the Red Sox are “interested in”.
Central Valley
Makes too much sense for the Giants. Especially now, after Longoria is now on the 60 day IL.
Come on Zaidi!!!!
onepaperkid
Longoria’s rehab is going as planned, he’ll be eligible to be activated on August 5th. It was merely a procedural move to clear a spot on the roster. The Giants don’t need Bryant.
rondon
Right. Why would they ever need a player who can play 5 positions, has a ton of post season experience and is having a solid year at the plate? Naw, they don’t need him.
Cosmo2
Question is do they need to trade away future assets for a half a year of Bryant.
sacball
no
JayKay
I, too, have interest in Kris Bryant.
Doug Dascenzo
Calm down Jake, it’s not that kinda party.
howie feltersnatch
^^^ ah hah ha ha ^^^^
msqboxer
I’m thinking Houston jumps in on this…maybe a deal centered around Hunter Brown and Colin Barber…and another arm in the 15-30 range.
sacball
the Nationals got destroyed by the Giants and now the Padres, it’s going to take a lot more than that…
Zerbs63
Don’t forget about a 4 game sweep by the Dodgers…
kingbum
Boston should ask about Hendricks….Titles over cap issues being that they are atop the AL East they should go over the tax this year and bring in a starting pitcher….massive upgrade over Garrett Richards and Pivetta
ek_roy_92
Why would the Nats think they’re buyers when they can’t stay competitive with the Pads?
Zerbs63
How often does a player go from a 3rd place with a .500 record to a 4th place 6 games below .500. Lol I can’t see this happening.
Ggg$$$ 2
this is stupid. Cubs are only 6-7 games back of the wild card. we have a whole half of a season left. Cubs schedule is getting easy in July. we can be 2 games back of the NL central lead by start of August. they need to trade for starting pitching.
was a huge mistake to let Joc go. he is such a big time lead off.
he was hitting over 400. in may. come on jed.
Cubs are being sold. new ownership needs to go for the stars again.
with the core we have. 1-5 in line up is another world series.
we have pitching in the BP now. dont fack it up please.