One of the things I noticed about this year’s Trade Deadline was an uptick in trades among divisional rivals, even as they might help a team ahead of them in the standings (and/or provide a prospect that could burn the buyer down the road). A lot of teams just weren’t concerned about intradivisional implications, much in the way the Cubs and White Sox weren’t concerned about an intracity trade.
It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, to learn that the Cubs and Reds had talks about Kris Bryant.
Ken Rosenthal reports that the Reds were looking at Bryant as a center fielder, with the Cubs aiming to pick up the remainder of Bryant’s salary for a big prospect return. Sounds like the Reds weren’t pushing aggressively, though, because of the impending outfield returns of Nick Senzel and Nick Castellanos, as well as infielder Mike Moustakas.
It would’ve been nice to have the Reds involved, given their farm system, and *especially* given the fact that they were a team that wanted the Cubs to eat salary. But if they weren’t pushing hard, then it’s not difficult to imagine that the return from the Giants – a top 15 prospect in Alexander Canario, and a sleeper that gets more intriguing every time I read about him in Caleb Kilian – might’ve topped what the Reds were realistically willing to offer anyway.
Also, to be completely honest … it would’ve been really annoying to see Bryant on the Reds.