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

[d_money]

The Cubs know Bryant isn't going to re-sign with them. Why would he after the way he's been treated?

We can hope he continues his torrid pace, driving up value. I have no idea what a return would look like but with a hard 7/31 trade deadline (ie no more 8/31 non waiver), this could speed up the process as well as the return. If the Cubs keep him for the remainder of the season and lose him, not sure how valuable the comp pick is vs the return they get in a trade.

[UMFan83]

The Cubs know Bryant isn't going to re-sign with them. Why would he after the way he's been treated?

 

I guess it depends on whether you believe what Bryant has said on the matter. It could be posturing but as recently as this spring he's stated a desire to be a Cub for life. Now I'm not naive and realize he can say that and have no desire to return. But I believe he would return at market value but also that he never had any intention of agreeing to a contract before testing FA.

[Tryptamine]

The Cubs know Bryant isn't going to re-sign with them. Why would he after the way he's been treated?

We can hope he continues his torrid pace, driving up value. I have no idea what a return would look like but with a hard 7/31 trade deadline (ie no more 8/31 non waiver), this could speed up the process as well as the return. If the Cubs keep him for the remainder of the season and lose him, not sure how valuable the comp pick is vs the return they get in a trade.

 

Sadly I wouldn't expect much of a haul now that it's only going to be half a season. Maybe a Many Machado type return. A guy in the bottom third of the top 100, a lottery ticket, an upside guy with injury history and a relief prospect. I'd guess something like a Matt Allen led package if it was the Mets. Francisco Alvarez and Ronny Mauricio would definitely not be on the table.

[d_money]

The Cubs know Bryant isn't going to re-sign with them. Why would he after the way he's been treated?

We can hope he continues his torrid pace, driving up value. I have no idea what a return would look like but with a hard 7/31 trade deadline (ie no more 8/31 non waiver), this could speed up the process as well as the return. If the Cubs keep him for the remainder of the season and lose him, not sure how valuable the comp pick is vs the return they get in a trade.

 

Sadly I wouldn't expect much of a haul now that it's only going to be half a season. Maybe a Many Machado type return. A guy in the bottom third of the top 100, a lottery ticket, an upside guy with injury history and a relief prospect. I'd guess something like a Matt Allen led package if it was the Mets. Francisco Alvarez and Ronny Mauricio would definitely not be on the table.

If that’s the case, the Cubs are better off keeping him. On the surface, it’ll give the appearance that they tried to re-sign him in good faith (appearance only). The comp pick will help.

[Cubswin11]

The Cubs know Bryant isn't going to re-sign with them. Why would he after the way he's been treated?

We can hope he continues his torrid pace, driving up value. I have no idea what a return would look like but with a hard 7/31 trade deadline (ie no more 8/31 non waiver), this could speed up the process as well as the return. If the Cubs keep him for the remainder of the season and lose him, not sure how valuable the comp pick is vs the return they get in a trade.

 

Sadly I wouldn't expect much of a haul now that it's only going to be half a season. Maybe a Many Machado type return. A guy in the bottom third of the top 100, a lottery ticket, an upside guy with injury history and a relief prospect. I'd guess something like a Matt Allen led package if it was the Mets. Francisco Alvarez and Ronny Mauricio would definitely not be on the table.

Yeah I’d expect a Machado return for him more or less. Which was pretty bad. I’d rather just hold on to him and get the comp pick if that’s the best return be see what his market is in FA to maybe re-sign him.

[Bertz]

Machado's the obvious comp. While it hasn't worked out for Baltimore, that was a strong return (on paper) at the time. They got the #4 (#90 in the top 100), #9, #19, and #21 prospects from what was the 10th best farm in baseball coming into the season.

 

The lesson IMO is "don't assume you can make a good trade with the Dodgers (or Rays)" more than anything.

[sneakypower]

he'll be 30 next opening day and he turned down $200M

 

love him but i have a hard time seeing a megadeal panning out very well factoring age, recurring injuries, lack of any long-term supporting cast (and self-imposed limited budget)

 

prob best to let that dream die

[squally1313]

he'll be 30 next opening day and he turned down $200M

 

love him but i have a hard time seeing a megadeal panning out very well factoring age, recurring injuries, lack of any long-term supporting cast (and self-imposed limited budget)

 

prob best to let that dream die

 

Counterpoint: Every dollar Kris Bryant takes as a member of the Chicago Cubs is a dollar out of Tom Rickett's pocket, and while I agree that it is a very stupid system and yes, his 2026 production will probably not match the amount he is getting paid that year, he deserves that money way more than pretty much anyone else in the world.

[sneakypower]

he'll be 30 next opening day and he turned down $200M

 

love him but i have a hard time seeing a megadeal panning out very well factoring age, recurring injuries, lack of any long-term supporting cast (and self-imposed limited budget)

 

prob best to let that dream die

 

Counterpoint: Every dollar Kris Bryant takes as a member of the Chicago Cubs is a dollar out of Tom Rickett's pocket, and while I agree that it is a very stupid system and yes, his 2026 production will probably not match the amount he is getting paid that year, he deserves that money way more than pretty much anyone else in the world.

it's not a very compelling counterpoint, given there's a very limited number of dollars PTR lets Jed take out of his pocket

[squally1313]

he'll be 30 next opening day and he turned down $200M

 

love him but i have a hard time seeing a megadeal panning out very well factoring age, recurring injuries, lack of any long-term supporting cast (and self-imposed limited budget)

 

prob best to let that dream die

 

Counterpoint: Every dollar Kris Bryant takes as a member of the Chicago Cubs is a dollar out of Tom Rickett's pocket, and while I agree that it is a very stupid system and yes, his 2026 production will probably not match the amount he is getting paid that year, he deserves that money way more than pretty much anyone else in the world.

it's not a very compelling counterpoint, given there's a very limited number of dollars PTR lets Jed take out of his pocket

Honestly, I don’t care. If the choice is a broken down KB or 4 2025 versions of matt Duffy/Eric sogard/etc, give me KB. If his contract is somehow the difference of anything, we’re fucked anyways. Ricketts have ruined most of this team, if they can have to write a check to a ‘bad contract’ while I can get flashbacks to The Good Times, seems like a win win.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I'm not going to claim that Bryant will be a great free agent value, but I don't find the 'he reportedly turned down $X so any contract he signs will be catastrophic' logic very compelling. For one, Bryant is far from on pre-arb money now and has been for a while, so the delta compared to say, extending Contreras or even Rizzo is not likely to be severe. Also I don't think anyone can know for sure how the FA market is going to go, but recent trends even without the pandemic are not very friendly to the idea of Bryant getting a mega deal.

[squally1313]

To put on my 'actual baseball analysis' hat for a minute, KBs injury history, which is lengthy in number but not necessarily in longevity, will inevitably be baked into whatever market value he ends up hitting. In a PTR budget world, isn't he the kind of player we should be banking on anyways? When he's 100% healthy, he rakes. So make a bet on putting together a few healthy seasons and you've got yourself an undervalued player.

[CyHawk_Cub]

Maybe I'll be proven wrong, but I think Ricketts just plans to be tallest of the midgets in an otherwise small market division. He should be swinging big market dick going forward, but I doubt he will.

 

Hell, I'm for locking-up KB if he is willing because even if they don't I'm not convinced all that "savings' will go to actual on-the-field product. Guess I'd rather take my chances on KB being here + the hopes & prayers (ridiculous a big market teams apparently needs such) works than merely the hopes & dreams with no KB. That's my not so deep opinion.

[Sammy Sofa]

Let him hopefully go to a team that has an actual chance, you selfish bastards.

[Backtobanks]

Let him hopefully go to a team that has an actual chance, you selfish bastards.

 

Any team that's trading for a rental as good as Bryant should certainly be near contention with the hope Bryant will make the difference (which he probably will).

[Rob]

Let him hopefully go to a team that has an actual chance, you selfish bastards.

 

I’m still used to saying this about guys who didn’t get a ring with us, but Kris did. So he has to stay forever.

[Backtobanks]

I'm not going to claim that Bryant will be a great free agent value, but I don't find the 'he reportedly turned down $X so any contract he signs will be catastrophic' logic very compelling. For one, Bryant is far from on pre-arb money now and has been for a while, so the delta compared to say, extending Contreras or even Rizzo is not likely to be severe. Also I don't think anyone can know for sure how the FA market is going to go, but recent trends even without the pandemic are not very friendly to the idea of Bryant getting a mega deal.

 

This seems like an underrated part of the whole narrative. He's making $19.5 this year, hardly a huge gap between what he'll get in an unfriendly FA market

 

He should be able to get a higher average salary for FA, but it won't be for a longer number of years.

[Backtobanks]

https://www.mlb.com/news/teams-that-could-trade-for-kris-bryant

 

I don't think they're even pretending this is anything but a troll anymore. The Dodgers are literally the first team listed and the White Sox are listed as the Best Fit...These gd reptiles

 

The White Sox make a lot of sense, but I think the Cubs might be reluctant to getting a bad deal from their crosstown rivals while Bryant helps them to the playoffs.

[Backtobanks]

[The White Sox make a lot of sense

 

Everyone makes alot of sense. He can leadoff, hit cleanup, hit anywhere else in the lineup, start at 5 different positions including CF, in a typical year is one of the handful best offensive players in either league, is one of the few who can at least threaten a .400 OBP year in and year out, is one of the fewer still who can pull that off while still being able to run and defend well, he's missed the playoffs once, won a WS, been the MVP of the best team in the league etc etc etc. Bryant makes alot of sense for every team in baseball that has any desire or incentive to put a winning team on the field

 

The WS make the most sense because they've lost two offensive threats for an extended period at positions that Bryant can play. The fact that they're in a weak division makes it even more likely. It just comes down to which team offers the best package.

[imb]

yeah guys theyre definitely gonna trade bryant to (checks notes) our biggest division rival or the crosstown enemies

[d_money]

The Cubs are gonna have to be blown away with a trade proposal from any team for them to move him. I’m not even gonna comment on trading him to StL or WS - it’s simply not happening.

 

They’ll end up keeping him and will make a strong effort to re-sign him.

[Backtobanks]

The Cubs are gonna have to be blown away with a trade proposal from any team for them to move him. I’m not even gonna comment on trading him to StL or WS - it’s simply not happening.

 

They’ll end up keeping him and will make a strong effort to re-sign him.

 

I hope you're right because of the same reasons: they have a position to fill and they're in a weak division.

[We Got The Whole 9]

KB is really challenging to become the 2nd Cubs player ever to hit 100 XBH in a season. Sammy did it in 01 with 103. D-Lee fell one shy in his magical 05 season.

 

Sosa's 01 also fell just shy of a 10 fwar season, ending at 9.9., sadly.

 

KBs currently rocking a 185 wRC+. Lee had a 170 that year, and Sosa has KB beat by 1 point right now at 186. I believe that's also the team record. Quite a contract year for KB.

[Backtobanks]

KB is really challenging to become the 2nd Cubs player ever to hit 100 XBH in a season. Sammy did it in 01 with 103. D-Lee fell one shy in his magical 05 season.

 

Sosa's 01 also fell just shy of a 10 fwar season, ending at 9.9., sadly.

 

KBs currently rocking a 185 wRC+. Lee had a 170 that year, and Sosa has KB beat by 1 point right now at 186. I believe that's also the team record. Quite a contract year for KB.

 

Unfortunately, it looks like he may do it for another team.

[CubinNY]

I get the feeling Kris Bryant's FA season, should he keep this going (no real reason to think he won't tbh), is going to get treated similar to Adrian Beltre's FA season was back in 2004. By that I mean everyone's going to armchair pretend that a player known as supremely talented for years and years totally definitely has tons of unique questions to answer moving forward. In Beltre's case because that was his first huge year, in Bryant's case it'll be because 30 in 2021 is totally definitely super scary for everyone across the board equally. Beltre signed for less than half the top FA contract that year, Beltran’s, and folks still lined up to count those pennies

He's more versatile than Beltre so he'll have more teams that could potentially need/want him. It's a different era in baseball, so you could be correct for the wrong reasons. Said another way, put Bryant in 2004 and he's getting Beltran's contract or close to it.

 

He's still going to get paid.