NEWSLETTER
One of the nice things about the very early Spring reveal that Kris Bryant would be the Cubs’ new leadoff hitter is that it presented a tangible, forward-looking thing that we – as fans – could latch onto to stop thinking about trade rumors.
Whether you were on board with shopping Bryant or not, we’ve reached the point where it is so unlikely a deal is made that you just want to stop thinking about it. Or at least I did. So I was glad to have this concept that was about Bryant and the regular season that I could focus on instead.
It helped, too, that Bryant talked with the front office, and came away feeling like he was going to be a Cub on Opening Day. He even went further and said he thinks he sticks with the Cubs all season, which, as Jed Hoyer pointed out, is actually Bryant showing a lot of faith in his teammates:
Why is Kris Bryant so confident he will be a Cub all season? Will baseball ops get more money for July 31? How GM Jed Hoyer views the trade deadline this year: https://t.co/wlDyLppNTO
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) February 21, 2020
“I think that speaks to confidence in the team,” Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer told Patrick Mooney about Bryant sticking around. “We have a really good group and he’s going to be a huge part of it. Listen, his frame of mind has been fantastic. I give him a lot of credit for that. He was in trade rumors this winter. He had the grievance, which people were commenting on all the time. That couldn’t have been that easy. For him to come into camp in that frame of mind, it really says a lot about him.”
Do you catch the implication in there, though? That if the Cubs don’t get out to a good start this year, then Bryant is very unlikely to still be with the team after the July 31 Trade Deadline.
Here’s hoping that the Cubs blow the doors off the thing in the early part of the season, making any question about trying to get back under the luxury tax totally moot (even if it’ll still piss me off that the Cubs did precious little to ADD to the team in the offseason). And if the Cubs meander – even if they’re still kinda in contention, but not dominating – then I think the trade talks come back up in June.
Until then, a little added background context for the trade talks this offseason, and the trade/extension rumors to come:
Interesting note on the Arenado-Bryant trade rumor talks from @ESPNChiCubs. Tells me that although a deal may not have gotten close, the talks were clearly quite serious, given massive contract implications. https://t.co/EnWioEXHRH pic.twitter.com/xNABsjCYSk
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) February 21, 2020
Nats are giving top prospect Carter Kieboom a shot to replace a Rendon at 3B. No current talks on Bryant. Cubs wanted either Robles or some combo of RHP Rutledge, SS Garcia and Kieboom. Not an unreasonable ask but considering price (tax) and potential ultimately decided no.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 20, 2020
