Kris Bryant is awesome and we were always right to love him

[Derwood]

 

So he’ll be back in 2 weeks then.

 

When was he here? Hardly noticeable.

 

He somehow has a positive fWAR

 

 

it's 0.1

 

[minnesotacubsfan]

stuff Cub fans say, via KB

[UMFan83]

stuff Cub fans say, via KB

 

Can’t wait for Brewers fans to jump all over the Wrigley North line as if it wasn’t written for him to say in a Red Bull commercial

[PackLandVA]

stuff Cub fans say, via KB

 

About 2 minutes too long.

[minnesotacubsfan]

Agreed

[Bertz]

 

Good, let him fully recover rather than play at 70% the rest of the year

[Sammy Sofa]

Bryant and the Cubs health & fitness staff: a short play.

 

[soccer10k]

 

Good, let him fully recover rather than play at 70% the rest of the year

 

This should surprise literally nobody.

[17 Seconds]

i bet the ricketts love the fall of kris bryant

[Cubswin11]

I mean he has to be done for the year basically. There’s ~30 games left and he’s going to need SB time. This sucks.

 

[17 Seconds]

I mean he has to be done for the year basically. There’s ~30 games left and he’s going to need SB time. This sucks.

 

 

every decent team is making the playoffs and you don't even get a bye for winning the division. so if you're hopeful in the cubs chances at winning a "world series" this year, getting him back for the postseason is all that really matters.

[gflore34]

What's this the fourth consecutive season mired by injury for Bryant? I can't see his trade value being high enough to command extraordinary talent in return. What team is going to give up its top prospect(s) on the chance of them getting a healthy Bryant? I would also think any leverage he had in negotiations with the Cubs is gone. They can approach him with a good offer saying "you've had some bad luck with injuries but, we're still willing to secure you're financial future" or something to that extent. Or, I guess he can go with another year of arbitration in 21, show he can stay healthy, put up the big numbers for FA in 22.

[Bryants Disco Ball]

What's this the fourth consecutive season mired by injury for Bryant? I can't see his trade value being high enough to command extraordinary talent in return. What team is going to give up its top prospect(s) on the chance of them getting a healthy Bryant? I would also think any leverage he had in negotiations with the Cubs is gone. They can approach him with a good offer saying "you've had some bad luck with injuries but, we're still willing to secure you're financial future" or something to that extent. Or, I guess he can go with another year of arbitration in 21, show he can stay healthy, put up the big numbers for FA in 22.

 

Love the dude. Hell of a player. Can't stay healthy anymore. Even when he plays, he seems to be fighting off a nagging injury that has people talking about how it's impacting his game.

 

I don't believe he's ever going to really be healthy again. I envision his body continuing to break down. Therefore, as tough as it is, I wouldn't even be interested in making him a "good" offer.

[gflore34]

What's this the fourth consecutive season mired by injury for Bryant? I can't see his trade value being high enough to command extraordinary talent in return. What team is going to give up its top prospect(s) on the chance of them getting a healthy Bryant? I would also think any leverage he had in negotiations with the Cubs is gone. They can approach him with a good offer saying "you've had some bad luck with injuries but, we're still willing to secure you're financial future" or something to that extent. Or, I guess he can go with another year of arbitration in 21, show he can stay healthy, put up the big numbers for FA in 22.

 

Love the dude. Hell of a player. Can't stay healthy anymore. Even when he plays, he seems to be fighting off a nagging injury that has people talking about how it's impacting his game.

 

I don't believe he's ever going to really be healthy again. I envision his body continuing to break down. Therefore, as tough as it is, I wouldn't even be interested in making him a "good" offer.

 

I had those same thoughts but, he still young and its hard to think about the Cubs giving up on him.

[Cubswin11]

What's this the fourth consecutive season mired by injury for Bryant? I can't see his trade value being high enough to command extraordinary talent in return. What team is going to give up its top prospect(s) on the chance of them getting a healthy Bryant? I would also think any leverage he had in negotiations with the Cubs is gone. They can approach him with a good offer saying "you've had some bad luck with injuries but, we're still willing to secure you're financial future" or something to that extent. Or, I guess he can go with another year of arbitration in 21, show he can stay healthy, put up the big numbers for FA in 22.

 

Love the dude. Hell of a player. Can't stay healthy anymore. Even when he plays, he seems to be fighting off a nagging injury that has people talking about how it's impacting his game.

 

I don't believe he's ever going to really be healthy again. I envision his body continuing to break down. Therefore, as tough as it is, I wouldn't even be interested in making him a "good" offer.

 

I had those same thoughts but, he still young and its hard to think about the Cubs giving up on him.

Yeah, I’d still give him a 6-8 year deal for 150-190 in a second and he should be the guy they extend out of any of outside of Rizzo (who really won’t cost much anyways).

[Irrelevant Dude]

Bryant and the Cubs health & fitness staff: a short play.

 

Apparently my 3 year old son is a fan of that episode, because "MALK" is how he pronounces it.

[Bryants Disco Ball]

 

Love the dude. Hell of a player. Can't stay healthy anymore. Even when he plays, he seems to be fighting off a nagging injury that has people talking about how it's impacting his game.

 

I don't believe he's ever going to really be healthy again. I envision his body continuing to break down. Therefore, as tough as it is, I wouldn't even be interested in making him a "good" offer.

 

I had those same thoughts but, he still young and its hard to think about the Cubs giving up on him.

Yeah, I’d still give him a 6-8 year deal for 150-190 in a second and he should be the guy they extend out of any of outside of Rizzo (who really won’t cost much anyways).

 

I wouldn't be even close to that -- I wouldn't want to make an offer because it would be insulting - but at least by all accounts he's a really good person and obviously a player when healthy, so at least it's the right kind of guy to sign.

Edited August 24, 2020 by Bryant's Disco Ball

[Irrelevant Dude]

he should be the guy they extend out of any of outside of Rizzo

It is going to put the Cubs in a really interesting situation if nobody in the "core" performs well enough to justify a big contract. Bryant and Baez are both trending the wrong way, while Schwarber is pretty much just holding steady as a solid player who hasn't developed into the elite hitter they hoped for. It might just come down to, out of that group, who is willing to accept a somewhat team-friendly deal in exchange for long term security.

[gflore34]

 

I had those same thoughts but, he still young and its hard to think about the Cubs giving up on him.

Yeah, I’d still give him a 6-8 year deal for 150-190 in a second and he should be the guy they extend out of any of outside of Rizzo (who really won’t cost much anyways).

 

I wouldn't be even close to that -- I wouldn't want to make an offer because it would be insulting - but at least by all accounts he's a really good person and obviously a player when healthy, so at least it's the right kind of guy to sign.

 

if he's unable to play what does being the right kind of guy to sign get you? You can't break the bank on Bryant maybe, load it up with incentives?

[Bryants Disco Ball]

Yeah, I’d still give him a 6-8 year deal for 150-190 in a second and he should be the guy they extend out of any of outside of Rizzo (who really won’t cost much anyways).

 

I wouldn't be even close to that -- I wouldn't want to make an offer because it would be insulting - but at least by all accounts he's a really good person and obviously a player when healthy, so at least it's the right kind of guy to sign.

 

if he's unable to play what does being the right kind of guy to sign get you? You can't break the bank on Bryant maybe, load it up with incentives?

 

I'd assume they are more confident in his health than I in that situation, so at least if they are confident and they do it, it's the right kind of player I can get behind. Although, yes, I think it will turn out poorly.

 

I can't see KB and Boras taking a deal based on incentives. But depending on what happens next season, they might not have any choice but to take a prove it deal to try to cash in. I just don't think teams are going to be willing to go big years for him. I don't believe teams are as enamored with him as we'd hope, based on the fact that no team appeared to offer anything the Cubs would take with two years still left on his deal.

[Sammy Sofa]

Yeah, I’d still give him a 6-8 year deal for 150-190 in a second

 

Bryant if Theo offered him that deal:

 

 

[Cubswin11]

Yeah, I’d still give him a 6-8 year deal for 150-190 in a second

 

Bryant if Theo offered him that deal:

 

 

I’m highly skeptical he gets $200+ mil. The FA class is loaded and will suppress salaries alone on top of other shenanigans. Javy, KB, Rizzo, Freeman, Lindor, Seager, Correa, Story, Nola, Syndergaard, Conforto, Bauer if he does his 1 year deals, then some of the bigger recent guys have opt outs I believe (Bryce/Machado/Arenado, etc).

[The SABR Gamer]

Yeah, I’d still give him a 6-8 year deal for 150-190 in a second

 

Bryant if Theo offered him that deal:

 

 

I’m highly skeptical he gets $200+ mil. The FA class is loaded and will suppress salaries alone on top of other shenanigans. Javy, KB, Rizzo, Freeman, Lindor, Seager, Correa, Story, Nola, Syndergaard, Conforto, Bauer if he does his 1 year deals, then some of the bigger recent guys have opt outs I believe (Bryce/Machado/Arenado, etc).

 

Pretty sure Sofa is saying your offer is already way more than he should get, not that he somehow would get even more.

[Clem Fandango]

Even after his 2016 MVP season, he has still been the 6th most valuable 3B in all of baseball by fWAR, and the 3rd most valuable in the NL behind Rendon and Arenado. And obviously you don't pay for past performance, but since his rookie year in 2015, he's been the most valuable 3B in baseball by fWAR.

 

If you keep shrinking it down, he gets less and less valuable of course, but a lot of that was because he missed half a season in 2018. Between 2018 and now, he's been the 10th most valuable 3B in baseball, only Justin Turner put up a comparable fWAR in the same amount of games played (266 games and 8.3 fWAR to Bryants 265 games and 7.2 fWAR). All other 3B above him had at least 50-60 games played more, and of those above him, a couple were not true 3B the whole time (Machado and Moncada out fWAR him but Moncada split time at 2B and Machado was almost exclusively a SS in 2018)

 

This is all to say the following: In my opinion, he is only seemingly trending downward because he is not playing enough. When he is on the field and healthy, he is a Top 10 3B in baseball, even during his down years, and certainly a top 5 3B in the NL. Given he'll be 29 next year he can, and should, be extended if possible. If his injuries knock that price down, excellent. Even last year when he was coming back from his power zapping shoulder injury, he still hit 31 dongs. He was obviously fucked up this year, too, but I honestly couldn't care any less about this year and this stupid embarrassment of a major league baseball season. If he comes back healthy next year, he should be extended. Kris Bryant is really really good at baseball. Will he be a 6 win player again? Probably 50/50 and it hinges entirely on his health, but a 4-6 win player is still incredibly valuable and far more likely even with nagging injuries to keep him out 20-30 games a year.

 

I don't know that I'd want to extend him beyond 5 years, but a 5/$100-$120 deal with an opt-out after 2 seems like a fair offer if he's willing to sign before the offseason and it gives him an opportunity to cash in on comeback performances to get one last big contract before he starts to hit his decline hard.

[Sammy Sofa]

Dude is maybe the most crystal clear example of The Sulley Philosophy of Life played out in full. It's a lock he's a true two outcome player in terms of his baseball future: he is either going to sign with the Cubs and be a perennial "what could have been" as he has season after season interrupted and hobbled by injuries, and likely with another single god-tier season right in the middle just to further twist the knife....or he signs somewhere else and magically heals (AKA gets away from the Cubs' leech barbers) and mashes for years and years. It's impossibly anything else will happen. He is a human monkey's paw.