Recent talks between the Cubs and Nationals regarding Kris Bryant have “gone nowhere,” reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (via Twitter). Negotiations seemed to hit an impasse a few weeks ago, when the Cubs reportedly insisted upon the inclusion of promising center fielder Víctor Robles in any Bryant deal.
Notably, Washington has agreed to terms with Asdrúbal Cabrera on a one-year deal since Rosenthal’s report. Perhaps that takes them out of the running for Bryant or Nolan Arenado, two of the top trade candidates on the market, regardless. Cabrera, though, wouldn’t figure to stand in the way of an acquisition of a player as good as Bryant or Arenado. Indeed, Washington still doesn’t seem to be entirely ruling out a signing of star free agent Josh Donaldson. There’s yet opportunity to circle back to more eye-catching names than Cabrera and Starlin Castro, who the Nationals brought aboard yesterday.
Understandably, the Cubs seem to be setting a high price in talks on Bryant. Interested suitors, meanwhile, are wary of Bryant’s service time grievance. At the moment, the 28-year-old has two years of team control remaining. His $18.5MM projected salary is notable but still an unquestionable bargain for a player of his caliber. If Bryant wins the grievance, however (an outcome that would be unexpected but hardly impossible), he’d reach free agency at the end of next season instead. In that case, he would still be a highly appealing trade chip, but his value would no doubt take a hit. Thus, Bryant seems likely to stay put until the grievance is resolved.
Either way, it doesn’t appear Bryant will be headed to the nation’s capital, barring an unforeseen reignition of talks. Teams who lose out on Donaldson and Arenado would figure to be Bryant’s most ardent pursuers. The Braves, Rangers, and Twins have been among the most active searchers for upgrades at the hot corner. Of course, there’s no urgent need for the Cubs to trade Bryant, who, despite the pending grievance, might still be amenable to working out a long-term deal.
Cubs offseason is going nowhere.
Did you know who was your Father ?
I am you’re Father.
You are you are father?
Why does Bryant have only 77 RBI’s for 2019? seems to me with all the hype on this guy he’d have at least 100RBI’s, does he choke with guys on base or what?
Batting in the 2 hole?
Moron … he spent time on DL
The guy obviously doesn’t follow the Cubs. There’s no need for the childish name calling.
No need to call names.
Welcome to the internet where everyone is big, bad and brave.
why does Jacob deGrom only have 11 wins for 2019? seems to me with all the hype on this guy he’d have at least 16W’s, does he choke with small leads or what?
@ kidaolus you have no clue. Why do you think cleanup hitters have more RBI’s than leadoff hitters genius?
Where you bat in the batting order and who is batting in front (getting on base) has a direct correlation to RBI chances and thus the number if RBI’s.
Acuna had 101 RBIs batting leadoff.
Acuna had 78 RBI batting leadoff. Do your homework.
That was sarcasm.
Remember that Acuña spent a little while in the cleanup spot too and I believe had 23 of his RBIs there.
No, deGrom doesn’t usually choke. He got very little run support, & the Mets relief would blow most of his great starts after he was pulled late in games for a pinch hitter out of desperation to score some runs. He led the league in ERA & K’s & won the CY Young with only 11 wins! That never happens, so that will tell you just how dominating he really was!
The Cubs were among the worst teams in OBP for their leadoff hitters. As the #2 hitter, subsequent innings would have the pitcher and leadoff hitting in front of him. Hard to drive runs in with the bases empty or not in scoring position.
Joe Maddon lineups
or 73 in 151 games with 39 bombs and 946 ops in ’17… or 53 in 111 games and 834 ops… for the numbers he’s put to only top 100 once with 102… the spot in the batting order is a pretty big cop out.
Of course its an outdated stat, but the are sometimes where the numbers low or high crossed referenced with BA/OPB and quality of line up, shouldn’t be dismissed so flippantly.
Saw someone dismiss Abreau leading AL in RBI’s last year as meaningless… but when you look at the line ups and ops between the two… and then over the last 5 years as well,.. sorry the mythical “clutch” vs non clutch factor just cant be analytically dismissed in the extreme pro and con results between the two.
Great point!!
Thanks for the troll, Sox fan. Now go home and get your shine box!
I wouldn’t say it’s a cop out, I would say it is the exact reason that it is an “oudated stat” as you put it. Batting order and the quality of the hitters hitting ahead of you are the biggest factor in RBIs. There have been other problems with Bryant, if someone wants to poke holes in his value then they should go that route instead of RBis
108 runs scored is kinda good/important
147 games, 82 of them batting in the 2 whole. Also drew 78 walks. Be interesting to see how many RBI’s where driven in by the 3 and 4 hitters when Bryant was in the game.
was he in the two-hole for 5 years?
if only there were a website that had stats of results with RISP…
Bryant —
PA 724 AB584 BA.265 OPB .385 OPS .859 29hr 239RBI
Abreau —
PA 995 AB836 BA.322 OPB .396 OPS 952 HR44 RBI415
with one having a boatload of all-stars f0r protection and the other pure bums…
Yeah, not a troll… just that that poster had a very real point and the idea that gets dismissed as “rbi’s are meaningless” is too prevalent and I’ve been arguing in extreme cases that should not be the case….
and after watching both for years, knew its a perfect example — cause one guy is waaaaaaaay below his averages with risp and the other is waaaaaaay above them.
Not a white cubs/sox thing … just pretty much the perfect example of it.
But hey, now you have something clever to say how its not that big of a loss to make you look smart when your buddies are crying in their beers about salary dumping 27yo Kris Bryant.
Sorry if the truth hurts…
And sorry i you look at those numbers and think “RBI’s are meaningless stat” … in extreme failure and extreme success they most certainly are not —
Ok the thing is that RBIs are no less meaningless just because of a player’s stats with RISP.
If you want to say that a player struggles with RISP then bring up the stats that you mentioned. KB’s still aren’t bad, I’m not sure why there’s the Jose Abreu comparison. Most players typically have a lot weaker stats with RISP than when no one is on base.
What are you (kidaplus) talking about? If you understand how replies work on this forum you would see my reply was to nowheretogobutup’s question on why Bryant may have had only 77 rbis. That is it, had nothing to do with your earlier talk about Bryant and Abreu.
Nowheretogobutup, so in your world of logic, Mike Trout sucks too?
Ouch!
Kris Bryant’s lack of commensurate RBI’s to match his OPS are a direct result of Theo Epstein inability to find a quality leadoff hitter to replace Dexter Fowler following their 2016 World Series championship along with Joe Maddon’s poor lineup construction in the wake of that departure. Bryant has been the Cubs primary #2 hitter as part of Maddon’s ‘Bryzzo’ duo that had Anthony Rizzo mostly in the #3 slot. Few Cubs fans can quarrel with that combo but it might have been a more productive one in terms of RBI’s with that pair hitting 3-4 along with a proper leadoff man and #2 hitter in place.
Clearly slugger Kyle Schwarber had no business hitting leadoff yet Maddon forced him into the role not once but twice even after the initial experiment was such a failure it resulted in ‘Schwarbs’ demotion to AAA Iowa. Maddon also failed to identify a consistent #2 hitter for his lineup which was especially puzzling considering he had an ideal one in the high contact switch-hitting bat of Ben Zobrist who played for the ‘genius’ in Tampa during his first 9 seasons.
I’m also guessing the analytic nerds in the Cubs front office were also in Maddon’s ear regarding his batting orders that generally produced big numbers by year’s end but lacked consistency from game-to-game. It’s not hard to see why either with so much instability that wasn’t always a result of injury. Maddon was an excessive micro-manager who preferred playing fantasy baseball with his lineups rather than seeing the benefit of defined roles for his players, something a more traditional manager would have implemented.
It should also be noted that Bryant’s nagging shoulder and back issues hurt his production in 2018. He has been relatively healthy otherwise. Maddon’s inability to keep stability in his coaching staff also hurt. Too many hitting and pitching coaches.
nah… its cause it he’s hit 20 points lower than his career average with risp…,
occam’s razor.
You keep blaming Maddon, but what did you want the guy to do? Theo constructed the lineup, and he did a mediocre job. When you have no bonafide leader hitter, you have to put SOMEONE in there.
If I was Joe Maddon I would have put Javier Baez in the leadoff role. He was certainly a better option than Kyle Schwarber. Baez might not have had the highest OBP with his lack of walks but his BA was high enough to justify such a role, especially with Maddon green-lighting him on the bases. I like the idea of Baez creating havoc for the opposing pitcher and defense as a daring and aggressive base runner. Maddon could have easily done this a couple of years ago once Baez established himself as an MVP caliber player. He hit leadoff more often than not in the Cubs minor league system in order to get more PA’s so it was not something foreign to him. I don’t recall Schwarber ever leading off as a Cub minor leaguer. With Baez hitting #1, high contact switch-hitter Ben Zobrist would have been the ideal and prototypical #2 batter with his patient approach and his ability to hit behind the base runner.
Maybe because RBI’s aren’t a good judge of a player’s abilities and contributions.
Because the Cubs have had horrible OBP and base running out of the leadoff position for the past three seasons. When Fowler was leading off Bryant drove in 100 plus and earned the MVP.
KB sux! That’s why they cannot get a deal done.
As always, Chisox fan right on point with 5th grade analysis.
To have RBIs you have to have men on base ahead of you….
for his career 2015-19, he is averaging 92.47 RBIs per 162 games
Thank MLB for taking 3 months and still no decision on the grievance.
How is Robles the hiccup. There are a bunch of centerfielders with the same quality. JBJ and Bader just to name two. I get it he is younger but what do people expect his career to become. He was an 8-hole hitter last year. He was supposed to be what Soto is when all the experts claimed he was a #1 prospect. If you arent willing to sacrifice than whybeven call. The Phillies should get him and offer Kingery.
Relax. Robles just finished his first full year. Arguably should have won Gold Glove. Give him two years and he will be 30/30. He was 17Hr and 28 SB this past year. Plus him and Soto are two completely different type hitters. Trust and believe there is a reason the Cubs want him and the Nats aren’t trying to part with him. No way Phils are getting Bryant for Kingery and prospects. Thats laughable.
Of course they have. You don’t trade for one piece to create a hole at another. They were never good trade matches anyway. Robles is staying in DC with that team control.
Not to mention Robles was a very big reason they didn’t retain Harper. Cubs kind of seem out of their minds when it comes to Bryant.
Kyle Seager would be cheaper.
Kyle Seager is not very good at baseball.
Seager would hit 35 homers as a cub
But you’re better?
Says who
His brother.
I’m sure Seager can be had from Seattle by Nats. They are dying to dump his salary. Lefty bat with pop. Shouldn’t have to give up quality prospects for that salary either.
You generally get what you pay for.
This is all part of the trading game, so many rumors leave different camps to tilt the trade market. With another story getting released almost about the same time as this one that Josh Donaldson is officially setting his asking price for the clubs who are in the bidding.for him. Its hard to believe that the service time grievance is the only thing holding this back when Josh Donaldson provides his own red flags such as age.
Donaldson better sign before the Bryant grievance is determined. Because once the decision is made, likely in the Cubs favor, Theo will come into the picture- and Donaldsons has competition that will hurt his value, immediately.
Not necessarily… there are three teams that need a good 3B… Twins, Braves, Nationals and arguably the Dodgers (so they can shift Turner to 1B). Lot more demand than supply at this point for elite 3B talent.
True, but I don’t think all four teams feel like, ‘they have to’ make a move. Especially at this moment.
Twins need pitching, Sano can play third. It’s the clueless clowns in the front office who are intent on a third baseman.
Most of the NL East needs a 3B.
And rangers.
The same clueless clowns that built a 101 win team?
Cardinals need a 3B man.
Bryant will have one yr. left period, he can play his game but once the dust settles it will be one yr. Thus the trade value will be considerably less and if the Cubs are looking to dump salary Bryant will be traded for sure.
Please explain how the 2020 and 2021 season – only adds up to one season?
2 years
I highly doubt Bryant wins that grievance. The injury to Olt (I think that’s who it as) just before the callup will be what gives the Cubs the W
Nowheretogobutup, judging by your comments, you need to quit posting while you still have a shred of credibility and dignity.
@nowheretogobutup
You do not follow much baseball do you?
Bryant will not hurt Donaldsons value at all. Bryant is a trade candidate. Donaldson a free agent. Its apples and oranges. Not the same at all.
To the contrary once Donaldson signs there will no more free agent good third base options and demand for Bryant and Arenardo will increase
Duh. Asking price has to be sky high to the point it can’t be worth it for anyone. Especially because no one knows if it’s a locked 1 or 2 years.
Bryant is not getting out of his contract a year only. Cubs did not break any rules. nost likely they settle for some cash ammount.
The length of time the case is taking would tend to suggest otherwise.
I agree, seamaholic. If it were just a case of a literal reading of the CBA, the judgment could have been made the second the hearing closed. The seemingly interminable delay suggests that something else—something with serious repercussions—is in play.
In the CBA with the players union it stipulates that teams can not send player to the minors for the specific purpose of manipulating the service time.
Bryant contends that sending him to the minors until he could not gain a year in service time then calling him up the next day was such a manipulation.
Now filter all that through a bunch of lawyers, owners, a few committees & some arbitration
and here we aren’t
Realistically Bryant may have seen the writing on the wall that he might become a trade chip and wanted to gain some type of leverage on where.
It’s not inconceivable that a deal involves a team asking him to drop his grievance as part of an extension talk before the trade is completed.
He can complicate any trade he doesn’t like… not stop it, but certainly create issues
his grievance was filed the day he came up. they are only now getting to it. im confused with what youre saying that hes seen the writing on the wall and is able to do anything about it.
AtlSoxfan
Are you ok? What are you babbling about?
Bryant is not dropping any grievance in exchange for determing where he may be traded to. He also did not file the grievance to gain leverage. Jesus where do you come up with that bs.
Good. Try Nats h ave more prospects worthwhile for Bryant.
Nothin’ wrong with them asking for Robles. Not sure who you think their “other prospects” are. But they don’t have much. The Braves have many more movable pieces.
I meant the the Nats dont have anyone worthwhile.
This is what happens when you just wake up and dont have your glasses on
Or when you write a completely unreadable sentence.
He’s having his stroke in installments.
I have to think that Bryant will be traded to the Braves if they miss on Donaldson.
Donaldson has to sign, Arenado needs to be traded, Bryant needs to lose his arbitration case, then the dominos will fall.
Arenado has a no-trade clause so I don’t think he’s as likely as Bryant to be traded. Plus, it would be hard for a team to stomach giving up a haul that the Rockies would want AND taking on the remainder of that large contract.
Arenado has already expressed he wants to play for a winner…plus I think a team (cough) cardinals (cough) can easily give what Colorado would want and be fine…and they could easily take on that contract…my proposal would be Gorman (top 100 third base prospect), Herrera ( young promising catcher prospect), and maybe a pitcher or outfielder…but I think the cardinals would want Colorado to take on Fowler’s contract
Fowler and the Rockies did not end on good terms at all. It was so bad the GM was bad mouthing him on a public radio interview right after he was dealt. There is no way they take him in a trade.
It’s not the same GM, but it’s the same owner and the current GM was assistant GM at the time Fowler left. There are very few things I think of as no possible way will that happen, but Fowler back to the Rox is one of them.
Didn’t know that lol …but yea I don’t think it will happen then…does Fowler piss everyone off but the cubs lol
Lol, Cardinals don’t have enough to get Nolan. You’re crazy.
Lol you obviously don’t know anything about the cardinals
In all reality, a team with a prospect or two or three and the flexibility to take Arenado’s can easily make a trade with the Rockies. It’s about moving his contract more than anything right now.
You’re exactly right BeeVee…which makes me think that tomselleck actually knows nothing about baseball…?
Not “any” team. He has a no trade.
I know enough about the Cardinals to know they aren’t trading anyone to take on Arenado’s contract. Phase 2 of BPV is a higher priority.
I agree that the cardinals most likely will not trade for Arenado…personally I think they could easily take that contract though…but it would be a boss move…more of a Jocketty move than a Mo move
I could see a team getting g a Jared Kelenic/Justin Dunn plus type value deal for Arrenado. He’s got more value than Cano did this same time last year with a non albatross looking contract hanging over him.
The prize of that deal wasn’t cano. It was Edwin Diaz. Cano was added to bring the cost of getting Diaz down.
This just in! There’s nothing to report. No details to follow. As you were.
A rumors site telling us to stop spreading rumors.
Ridiculous is it not? At one point this site wouldn’t even report “news” like suspensions and what not. Strictly rumors. I’m fine with this structure but I actually come here to try to get a grasp on what’s happening before it actually happens. Hence the mlbtradeRUMORS
I don’t see Bryant being traded to Texas or Washington. The Cubs best match is Atlanta and I don’t think Minnesota has anyone worthwhile to trade for him.
They do. But Minnesota would be stupid to trade them.
Royce Lewis, Alex Krilliof would be the centerpiece to any Bryant deal both are top 20 prospects in all of baseball. They have good secondary prospects like Gaterol Balazovic and Larnach who are top 100 prospects.
Erik must be ignorant when it comes to Minny’s system if he thinks that they don’t have anyone worthwhile to trade for Bryant.
On the other hand, I don’t see the Twins including Lewis in a trade for Bryant. Also, their rotation sucks so bad that they won’t be moving Graterol unless it’s for an established, young stud of a starter. Kirilloff plus others would definitely be in play in such a trade.
Ask your doctor if Graterol is right for you.
No team willing to give up anything for lowly Cub KB.
Were you dropped on your head much?
We need to get rid of Bryant as soon as we can with the best package possible and be done with him. He’s peaked already and injury prone.
Exactly!
But if it’s so obvious that “he’s peaked and injury prone,” how can you expect another team to be gulled into surrendering top prospects for him?
Even if you are right in your player assessment, what, exactly, are you selling …”as soon as we can”? I know I would love to be sitting across the trade table from you on this one. It wouldn’t even matter what team was represented
Texas is a perfect fit for Bryant. His value is low. Winn and Jung would do it
Lol. Y’all going to be crying til August once this trade goes down. Cubs will get next to nothing for Bryant bc they have to trade him and everyone knows it. Indians can’t muster senzel for lindor but y’all believe you are getting something similar for a player that has to be traded who’s inferior to lindor?? Set the bar very very low.
And when Bryant says he wants to sign an extension and stay in Chicago- it’s 100 percent fluff talk. Theo and every other GM know it!
Yep, the guy with a higher WAR (27.8) than Arenado, Donaldson and Rendon from 2015-19 has no value. Ok.
Dont believe what this tool says.. He always post b.s. that makes no sense… Hes a reds fan
“We” … lol. Fake Cubs fan. Nice try.
You’re not gonna win this argument. It’s stupid
The biggest winner from the Cubs’ insane asking price on Bryant? Donaldson
‘insane’ is a term used by teams to tilt the market. its not insane. Look how much Shelby Miller went for a few years ago.
That was an insane overpay, not really a good match.
Lol. Using a trade from 2015 to define today’s market ? U been in a coma or something ?
Or it could be that the Cubs are the winners because of Donaldson’s insane asking price.
Seeing as 3 teams have reportedly offered ~$100M already, that seems like a poor take.
How does that not raise the Cubs asking price? Only one team gets Donaldson.
That wasn’t the point of my comment. The point is that the asking price on Donaldson isn’t insane if 3+ teams are willing to meet it.
I get it. I was responding to the “insane” in the first comment.
Im a Twins fan. I would get him right now
Why do you hate pitching so much?
You guys are still going to lose in the playoffs, just saying. Not only does the jinx still hold but your organization has not made any upgrades to the pitching staff. Re-upping with the guys you already have and adding Homer Bailey isn’t confidence-inspiring
No upgrades is better than selling your soul for an overpriced upgrade.
Yankees giving Cole that deal is gonna turn into an ellsbury situation all over again.
Why does Bryant think he can win this grievance? The Cubs worked under the guidelines of the CBA. This is total nonsense.
What makes you think he believes he’s going to win? I think this was an idea hatched by Boras, first of all. I’m sure they realize it’s unlikely but just want to piss in the coffee pot. It’s ridiculous to me – Cubs acted within the guidelines of the CBA. Change the rule if you want, but don’t try to penalize the team that is taking advantage of it. Plus, then they’d have to go back and review a bunch of other cases. The whole thing is silly.
“Piss in the coffee pot” is the best explanation of this grievance I have ever read.
Exactly, agent and player have held franchise hostage all offseason. Player should realize he is holding up possible roster transactions and working against his own team, or possibly being traded to a better one…
“Held the franchise hostage” is a stretch. The Cubs are probably happy about this. It’s a big enough distraction that most people are complaining about Bryant instead of them crying poor.
If Bryant wins his grievance, look for every AAA player that hit .300 or had 20 homers to be filing, saying they deserve major league pay, 34 International League players hit .300 last year. 63 PCL players hit over .300. That’s just the hitters. The pitchers would be saying they should have been called up too.
Typical Boraas move he’d sale his grandmother for a buck
The cubs are crooks.
no they aren’t you just dont like them
Same ol’ theme.
I’m not saying Bryant’s got a slam dunk here, but he’s not wrong to file. He was done a bit shady. He was a highly ranked prospect, after all. It’s not as if he was just a guy that caught lightning in a bottle at AAA one season. His issue is going to be proving it, and I don’t believe he’ll win it. It’s not a 0 percent chance, though.
Look, with Theo leaving in 2 years, Cubs are not going to embark on another full rebuild, so of course they’re asking for major league-ready players. Robles, Kieboom & one other prospect ought to do it. Or to the Braves for Drew Waters, Ian Anderson and Austin Riley. Boom! Done.
Robles and Kieboom is a laughably high ask. Zero chance Rizzo would accept that.
Robles and Kieboom are too much, that’s the holdup, they want Robles.
Robles and Kieboom are too much and Kieboom’s not enough. They’re just not a match.
Wow
Robles is already better, cheaper and has more control than Bryant. Not sure why the Nats would even consider putting him in a deal.
Nats aren’t a great fit other than their need at 3b. Cubs will want MLB ready players and the Nats don’t have a lot to spare. They’re still filling in the blanks of their roster with cheaper FAs.
Twins are a better fit. Kiriloff would be a great starting point. Atlanta is a good fit too.
robles is better? what year(s) did he win rookie of the year and the MVP?
Fair point but if I’m building a team for the future, I’d rather have Robles. Sounds like the Nats and the Cubs would too. Dexxter’s assessment was spot on.
no, it sounds like the point youre making is different than the one he is. If ‘Robles is better’ than Bryant. that is not the same as Robles is a better piece to build a team around than Bryant. I would agree with the latter but that is not what Dexxter even said or insinuated.
Your over valuing a ROY and MVP trophy. Neither of those personal accomplishments help a team win. Nor does any voted upon accomplishment. Bryant was worth 3.6 WAR last season, and Robles was a 4.1. One or two years of 3.6 is not worth giving up five years of 4.1.
Lol. bWAR? Funny, because fWAR has Bryant at 4.8 and Robles at 2.5 for 2019, but by all means, cherry pick.
Bryant
27.8 fWAR in 3105 PA
112PA/ 1-WAR
Robles
3.0 fWAR in 710 PA
237 PA/ 1-WAR
Seems you cherry pick too sir.
Wildthing Vaughn, “neither of those personal accomplishments help a team win”, referencing ROY and MVP. Bryant won the MVP in 2016. What year did the Cubs win the WS? Oh yeah, 2016. Or Betts? Or Altuve? let’s put it this way…it doesn’t hurt a team.
Don’t forget to check Bryant’s 4 other years.
Your right it doesn’t hurt, but plenty of MVP’s have sat at home for the postseason. Bryant is not the “game changer” Nats need or want, otherwise they would have already traded for him. Clearly Nats and Nats fan base value Robles way hire than Bryant, so no trade will be done. Robles will still be a Nat while Brant become a philly to play with his buddy and Cubs will be without a Star replacement.
Nope. It’s because beyond Robles, they don’t have enough to get Bryant. Besides that, no one is making a move til Bryant’s case is resolved and Donaldson signs.
There’s 0 chance cubs will get any one of those dudes or any caliber player close to that. I can’t wait for this trade to go down! Cubs fans are going to be crying all season
And when they do get one of those big names, will you be anywhere on these boards? Nah. Don’t think so.
The Nats wouldn’t trade Robles for Chris Sale when Robles was still a prospect. What makes you think they’re willing to move him (plus another great piece) now that he’s a quality big league player?
Braves fan here. You’re not getting Anderson. Period. I wouldn’t even do Waters, to be honest. I’d offer Riley, Muller or Wilson, and a pitcher a bit lower in the minors. If it’s not enough, no sweat here. I’d prefer Donaldson; and if that doesn’t work out, I’d rather deal with the O’s for Mancini.
Riley doesn’t get the job done and Mancici will be a pretty penny too. I doubt that happens, but for you sake ATL should just sign Donaldson
Donaldson wants to re-sign with ATL but both sides can’t agree on length or total dollars. Cubs want to move Bryant and ATL has best prospects for that. ATL wants to wait out Donaldson, Arenado and Bryant grievance time issue. Rangers only other most likely interested in Arenado (but they lack prospects). Sound about right? If so, Atlanta is in a real good spot. When the grievance decision with Bryant happens then teams might be forced to make some decisions.
Texas has NO prospects???
Sir, they have a TON, with their newly/95% rehabbed Minors,
Though, after working so hard to revamp & retool, I’m not sure how
JD feels about trading off, seeing that many are about MLB ready.
Jung 3B and Huff C, are two fine examples… maybe even untouchable.
Doesn’t matter. It won’t take prospects to get Bryant or arenado. There’s absolutely no chance in keiboom or any player near that level. No one is going to offer that for Bryant when everyone knows the cubs have to trade him
Cubs do NOT have to trade him. What is your reasoning.
He’s suing his employer. Relationship is destroyed and it ripples through organization. You also get a better return w 2 years left.
That’s an overstatement.
The arbitration process is built on the team coming before an arbitrator and listing all the ways the player is average at best, maybe mediocre, in order to win the lower arbitration salary. Yet everyone makes up when it is over.
For Bryant and Cubs, this certainly falls under “not personal, just business.”
Says the cubs fan…..this isn’t an arbitration hearing. He filled grievance against his employer. In other words- he’s suing them for lost wages and rightfully so. Come to terms with it
Congratulations, this is the worst take in the thread so far.
Remember me when the trade goes down. You’ll be eating those words
Lmao Les is that 43 yr old in his moms basement in Cincinnati jerkin off the Johnny bench photos thinking he could be a GM… Dude is clueless, stop talking to him so we dont have to read his nonsense… Hes obviously clueless about baseball
@Munkes2 The absolute typical Cubs fan response when there’s nothing left to say. Let’s just name call, mock, cyberbully, etc. You’re the one who is clueless if you don’t think Ricketts & Theo have tons of reasons why they could/should trade Bryant. First off, he is suing them! Cubs got nasty with rooftop owners, City of Chicago, etc. so Ricketts will do whatever he can to make money & not lose money. KB knows they screwed him with service time and financially he’ll be fine but he might think this is what he had to do to change this for players in the future. Bryant gets them potentially the largest return in a trade (Baez might get most but they want to keep him). There might some injury concerns they’ve managed or worry about with Bryant we don’t know too. Lastly, Ricketts also doesn’t want to pay the tax penalties if they go over. So grow up dude and just accept another guys opinion which probably will be right. Once they trade Bryant you can do all the name calling, mocking and cyberbullying on him like most Cub fans will do.
I read til name calling and realized you were way to smart for me to hang in a conversation with, so didnt read further… Considering I didn’t call your boyfriend any names… But go tell your mommy that im being mean to your boyfriend there cupcake ,, boohoo
The Nats aren’t gonna trade Robles, that’s pretty clear. Many teams have tried and they have all failed. If the Cubs were going to trade Bryant to the Nats, I assume it would start with Kieboom and Joe Ross and build from there with smaller, lower-level pieces.
If it starts with Joe Ross, I’d hate to see where that proposal ends. Pray they didn’t hear about Koda Glover and push his potential?
You must have missed the whole “Kieboom” part.
If the Nats are unwilling to include Robles they just don’t have the prospects beyond Kieboom to get a deal done. Out of the 6 or 7 teams interested in adding a top-line 3b, Washington is at the bottom. Bad fit.
The arbitrator stalls to (1) increase his billeable hours while (2) penalizing the Cubs for sending Bryant to the minors years ago by frustrating their attempts to trade him now. In the end he rules in the Cubs favor. Crude justice because the system is unjust.
I don’t know why any club would even discuss Bryant without clarification in regards to the service time grievance. I personally don’t think there’s any way it rules in Bryant’s favor. But you just have to know whether you control him for one or two years when you trade for an asset (or in the Cubs case, trade an asset).
If Robles is a absolute no then what about
Kieboom, joe Ross, Michael Taylor, and one of will crow or Tim cate for Bryant ?
kieboom or robles would have to be the center of the trade, the extra names there i think the cubs would ask to look deeper into the minors instead of stay older with Taylor or deal with Ross’ injury issues,
It’s just not a match. Beyond Robles and Kieboom, there’s just low level prospects which the Cubs have plenty of.
Had a hard time finding players that made sense, I figured two major league ready players at relatively young ages and another rprospect along with kieboom as the centerpiece would be good enough lol
Smart that they’re giving up on JD.
If the Nats want a 34 yo 3B, the SFG will probably give them Longoria plus cash for very little in return (maybe Eaton to trade a little salary). Turner can then move back to CF-creating the best OF in BB.
BTW-Longoria’s numbers improve away from SF cavernous ballpark.
The Nats want a good 34 year old 3B, not just any 34 year old 3B.
Bryant will be the Metropolitans third baseman n 2020.
Always ask big at first. In any negotiation at any time.
It’s the second or third proposal that has legs.
Bryant will not win the case without strong evidence in a email. MLB would be opening up a can of worms for other players to file same suit when a rookie is not brought up.
What difference would email evidence make? Cubs didn’t break any rules. Period.
They shouldn’t have been allowed to file a grievance in the first place is my point.
Theo can hang onto Bryant until July trade deadline……market will be different …..teams will need a guy who can play third or the outfield…….if not then, there is always next winter meeting……….or Bryant and the Cubs head to the 2020 World Series.
He can’t do that. The idea is to subtract from the roster to in turn improve the roster with an added prospect to trade and/or payroll flexibility to use in other areas of need. The Cubs aren’t trying to rebuild the deadline may be too late
If he does not end up on the IL again, then his value will be down and the Cubs need to move his salary now, not n July
Way better plan than thinking any team will give up anything near Bryant’s value. Still though when Bryant says he wants to stay in Chicago- that’s fluff talk. They gotta trade him
You’re working awfully hard in this thread to tamp down Bryant’s trade value. You must really want him. Who’s your team? Nats?
Reds. Enjoying my moment in the sun : )
I’m also a fan of the financial aspect of baseball. The strategy intrigues me. Blew my mind Cleveland couldn’t trade lindor. So that’s the standard. LA and SD has 4 or 5 guys that can get lindor and reds have senzel yet he’s an indian. Look at the lesser trades too. It’s a big BIG time buyers market.
The days of getting huge prospect hauls for star players with 2 years of control left are over. When stars are getting $30-$40 million per year why would you give up prospects for them. 80% of your team needs to be made up of low cost players. If you need a star, you sign one yourself.
The Mets wanted Gore+ from the Padres for Syndergaard. The Cubs and Indians have been demanding Lux, or even Lux and May from the Dodgers for Lindor, Clevinger or Bryant. Betts, one of the top 3 players in baseball, is available for trade yet nobody has come close to what the Sox want for him. Top specs are essential for building a competitive roster. Nobody is willing to sell possible stars with 6 years of control for rentals anymore. The market has changed. Get over it.
Amen! Only people who haven’t came around to that reality are cubs fans.
If you’re not getting your ask now, the offers will surely be less come July. Theo really has two choices: take the best offer, or play it out and try to win with Bryant and the current team.
KB will be on IR by then. No value.
KB is very greedy.
I bet the Dodgers will be the team that gets Bryant !
I think the Dodgers make a lot of sense. I’m not a Dodgers fan but big fan of what they’ve constructed. They are so good and so deep I think it’ll take a big acquisition to actually make a difference. I do think a bullpen piece is needed though.
A trade with the Brewers would make sense to add to the pen. Not sure what that would take or if the Brewers would be interested in prospects or major league talent to compete now but they do have a missing piece the Dodgers need
Cubs would never do that within the same division
If all things were equal I’d take Robles over Bryant every time.
Go Cubs Go
Wishful thinking.
Nats have little to offer in Prospects for Bryant.
That’s all they need. Fair trade.
Little prospects for KB.
Bryant is a puzzle for a guy who has such a demand why only 77 RBI’s is the IL starting to catch up with him? I could see if the guy had 110RBI’s or something but I think he’s over rated with his best years behind him.
Nowhere to go but up for Bryant.
He is a better player and especially hitter than Donaldson. Whoever gets him over the umbrella is making the right choice.
“He is a better player and especially hitter than Donaldson”
You’re awfully quick to dismiss a player that has put up a .900+ OPS in 4 of his last 5 years with really good defense… I think the difference between these two is a lot smaller than you think.
You are right but regression is far more likely for Donaldson than Bryant. Once he gets his money, it will go downhill. The defense will go once his legs give out. Homers will go down once they revert the balls. The only thing left is his ability to draw walks. He sure as heck not a good overall hitter.
So now his legs are going to give out as soon as he gets his money?! What?!? You know he’s going to put it in a bank, right? It’s not as if he’s going to add 100lbs of weight carrying all the money in his pockets.
And not a good overall hitter? What metrics are you using for this “expert” analysis?
The fact he hasn’t signed yet is your proof. Teams know the risks of getting JD. He is not worth giving a long term contract. That is why Rendon signed already to a record contract whereas JD is staring at his collection of umbrellas waiting for one desperate team to overpay for him. Hopefully, it is not the Braves.
Speaking of Rendon, another failure on the Braves part.
So far their only real good decision this offseason is getting rid of Teheran. That alone keeps me sane knowing this garbage is finally not starting another opening day game for the Braves.
KB will go down.
Who Needs a third baseman like Bryant ?
Nats
Braves
Dodgers
Twins
Rangers
Phillies
Who will NOT get Bryant in a trade…..
Cardinals
Pirates
Reds
Brewers
Who cannot afford a Bryant contract……
Rays
Tigers
Orioles
Marlins
Royals
Who could be a Wild Card to get Bryant
Yankees
Padres
D-Backs
Who has a farm system that does NOT have the prospects to get a Bryant….
Angels
Red Sox
Astros
Rockies
Nats
Which Cub players that also could be traded along with Bryant in a trade.
Alzolay…..Steele…..Quintana
It’s true that the Royals can’t afford a Bryant contract but we already signed a cheap free agent in Franco to play third.
I would argue that the Rays could afford him if they sent back Kiermiear (10 mil) which fills the cubs CF need, along with pitching prospects (2 of Liberatore,Baz, Honeywell) or/and Diego Castillo … They could do it, they have the budget, they are still under their team set salary cap of 80 mil a year
I wouldn’t hold my breath on that trade if I was you Munkes2.
Not saying it’ll happen.. But affordable still
Everytime I read or hear the name, Kiermaier, OVERRATED is the word that comes to mind.
List of Teams who really want KB:
List of teams that would trade Fernando Tatis jr for James Shields:
White Sox
List of teams who would trade DJ Lamathieu for Ian Stweart (Lolol, Theo’s first brilliant move too). List of teams that would trade Eloy Jimenez & Dylan Cease for Quintana. Soler for 1 year of Wade Davis. Gleyber Torres for Chapman. List of teams who would pay Heyward, Darvish, Chatwood, Morrow over 350 mil in contracts. Yep your beloved Cubbies and those little guys in charge sure made some bad moves & wasted alot of the Ricketts’ money.
Bad decisions won a WS … When was the last time White sox won a WS,, or their division,,, or MADE THE PLAYOFFS LMFAO,talk about wasting money… AL farm team of the decade
PED Arrieta helped win the WS. And I think 3 months of Chapman was received and on that championship team you mention. Yet they gave up 6 or more years of Torres and all those others for basically nothing! Not to mention the wasted millions on guys like Heyward, Darvish, Chatwood, Morrow, Miguel Montero, Brett Anderson, Justin Wilson, Drew Smyly, Graveman, Duensing & Descalso. Only shows about 400 mil in waste. No biggie, right?
Yawn… You sound like an annoying girlfriend… Winning a WS ring is the goal every year dork, whatever helps you get there is worth it, you wouldn’t understand , your sox haven’t won tbe division as long as you’ve been alive so I see why you think you have some sort of point.. I also don’t ever remember saying Heyward was a good signing, or trading Gleyber was something i favored (cause id rather seen Schwarber traded) , Darvish isnt even a bad signing, chatwood is a bum , and Morrow was injured (but im guessing you knew he would be since you know everything) all the guys on the bottom of your list are laughable cause they didnt cost much and werent brought in to be stars,,, swing and a miss pal.. Les come get your girl, shes on her rag
List of teams that wanted Jon Jay and who Machado had no desire to play for:
Chisox
Bryant is over-rated and finished ?……3 time all star……MVP…….ROY……WS winner……he turned 28 today…..going into his 6th season……..averages 32 HRs ….92 RBI in a 162 game season.
He is worth Four Top Prospects (1-20) from a team farm system !
Not so sure about that champ. Who’s the last player to be traded for 4 top 20 prospects? Plus one teams top 20 prospects might not be close to another teams package of prospects. I could see KB getting traded for 3 top 20 (unless all 3 are consensus top 20). In other words- prospect 1 (consensus top 5-10), prospect 2 (consensus top 10-20) & prospect 3 (consensus top 30-100). Bottom line is a team would be giving up 24 or more years of affordable player control/prospect capital for a possible max of 2 years of Bryant.
Sensible. The positions they play will dictate a lot as well. They need solid, controllable pitching, a center fielder, a lead off hitter. Gonna be interesting.
Trading for Nolan A is trading for 2 years. The Rockies may not get as big of a haul that they will want. He will be opting out, after seeing what Rendon got he will be getting more.
Robles projects as an elite talent. He’s 22 and will not be a free agent until 2025. At this point in his career, he’s accomplished nothing. He had 40 plus at bats in the 2019 post season with only 6 hits. Not exactly promising. I think the Cubs would be better off hanging on to Bryant at least until the 2020 deadline unless the Braves decide to part ways with Pache and a couple of young arms. If that happens and I do say if, they would free up more $$$$ to sign additional guys. Possibly Castellanos. Just a thought
Agreed. Swapping Bryant’s bat for Robles would be a huge downgrade. In theory the cubs should have one of the best offenses they have ever put on the field. Prime and healthy Bryant, prime Contreras, prime Báez, prime rizzo, Schwarber appears to have turn the corner, happ looked great last month of last year, heyward still young enough to produce. On the other foot the pitching is probably at its weakest.
i’m so glad the angels signed rendon!
Zoltar says Bryant to Dodgers for package led by Jeter Downs and Tony Gonsolin.
This makes total sense.
Ask for Keiboom,Voth and Turner. If they say no hang up.
Cubs are just checking the market for Bryant, they will get more serious when Donaldson signs and they should get a better deal for him then. I would take Bryant over Donaldson right now because he is younger with the same upside and he only will have a commitment of 2 years.
Some fans and pundits are suggesting that trading Kris Bryant will usher in a new era for the Cubs, perhaps even another rebuild. I’d argue just the opposite considering that Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein has the same two years of team control remaining on his contract that Bryant has assuming he loses his service time grievance. The likeliest scenarios have Bryant staying put or being traded for MLB ready young talent.
The possibility also exists that the Cubs could deal Bryant then replace him with a trade to the Rockies for Nolan Arenado, perhaps utilizing some of those acquired assets in any transaction. A direct trade between Chicago and Colorado involving Bryant and Arenado as centerpieces might also be possible.
The Cubs and Rockies seem to be in a similar spot with both teams slipping as NL contenders, receiving mandates from their respective ownerships to curtail spending, franchises in dire need of pitching and burdened with some hefty if not immovable contracts. It’s fascinating to consider some of the possible trade scenarios involving each team that could center on swapping some of those contracts which could actually improve their respective rosters.
The Rockies would love to move leadoff hitting RF Charlie Blackmon and former Cubs closer Wade Davis. The Cubs would like to move on from RF Jason Heyward and perhaps former Rockies SP Tyler Chatwood. The Cubs could replace Heyward with Blackmon and Chatwood with Davis. Blackmon could answer the Cubs leadoff woes and provide more lineup balance with his left-handed bat. Heyward would provide the Rockies with a younger RF, one who still possesses Gold Glove caliber defense that would play much better in the vast OF of Coors Field than 33-year old Blackmon. A change of scenery might do wonders for Heyward’s wayward bat since he joined the Cubs, especially in Colorado’s higher elevation, hitter friendly ballpark. The Rockies are also desperate for a quality defensive CF which the Cubs could provide in under-achieving Albert Almora who might also benefit from a change in addresses.
Meanwhile, both Davis and Chatwood have regressed since ‘swapping’ teams two years ago. Perhaps Davis could regain his mojo in the Cubs bullpen along with June FA acquisition Craig Kimbrel. The two could be a formidable duo at the backend of the Cubs pen with better health and a return to their 2017 form. Chatwood had better luck in the Rockies rotation than as a Cubs starter and might also benefit with a return to Denver.
But wouldn’t taking on Wade Davis’s contract put them right there on the payroll where you get penalized for going over a certain amount?
2020 Rockies Salaries:
Wade Davis $17MM + Charlie Blackmon $21.5MM = $38.5MM
2020 Cubs Salaries:
Tyler Chatwood $13MM + Jason Heyward $21MM = $34MM
Pretty close. The Rockies can eat the difference if it becomes an issue. The Cubs can also include Albert Almora and his projected $1.8MM 2020 arbitration salary which would cut into that $4.5MM difference and give Colorado the defensive CF they seek.
You’re looking only at the dollars bud. Cubs would have to include Almora without a doubt for Rox to even consider this. Blackmon (a fan favorite) is way more valuable than Heyward. Blackmon has roughly 2yr/42 mil guaranteed to him (with two option years which could bring it to around 4yr/75 mil). Heyward guaranteed 4yr/96 mil and way less of an offensive player.
Been a Cub fan over 55 yrs and every time a good player leaves like Maddux or now maybe Bryant, fans always think the next guy in line can take their place. I’m sick of the Cub culture and excuses for losing and especially choking. They finally won and they found a way to F that up.
So who is the alleged next guy up fans are allegedly saying could replace Bryant? Do tell!
It may not be a “guy”.
First Lady in MLB can take his spot.
Maddux left the Cubs over reasons that were sensitive of nature, He had a higher offer than the Braves, but he could not return to that clubhouse.
Asdrubel Cabrera shouldn’t ever stop any team from pursuing talent like Arenado or Bryant
Robles is a mediocre player at best. If he was on angels every one would say he is bad lol if thats the only stopping you from bryant you pull the trigger on that asap. That lineup with bryant is nasty
Yes a 22 year old with a 4.1 war is mediocre…
Some people say the craziest things. Robles is only 22 yrs old and you are already know what he is, lol. He led all center fielders with 22drs. He is an elite center fielder already after only I full season in the majors. He may not be the player that bryant is yet but 5yrs of him will be worth more than 1 or 2 yrs of bryant.
Defense first center fielder. Blah. We already have a defense first right fielder
There’s still time for the Cubs to move a core player like Bryant in effort to lower the payroll/get under the luxury tax and improve the minor leagues. But it’s looking like the Cubs front office will fail to do so. If they remain the status quo-This Cubs team as currently constructed will likely be in the thick of things for the NL Central but ultimately fall short. The starting pitching and bullpen will not hold up during the long season being the main reason for this failure. Just my opinion. Additionally, as constructed this Cubs team will once again be over the luxury tax. This will make Mr. Ricketts very unhappy.
Cubs – Rockies Fantasy Trade
Cubs send….Bryant, Quintana, Heyward, Alzolay, Schwarber
Rockies send….Blackmon, Fried, Davis, Arenado, Rolison
Who says NO first ?
I meant Freeland…Not Fried.
NO
No one wants Bryant
Cubs – Phillies Fantasy Trade
Cubs send …..Bryant,
Phillies send……Eflin, Howard, Bohm. Stott
Who says NO first ?
Cubs – Dodgers Fantasy Trade
Cubs send ….Bryant, Quintana
Dodgers send………Lux, May, Ruiz, Gray, Downs
Who says NO first
The Dodgers, obviously.
If you dropped off Lux, May & Ruiz, maybe.
Dodgers are NOT moving Lux. if they did do that trade it would be Lux alone and the Cubs would have to sweeten the pot
You’re over valuing “prospects” and under valuing proven ML talent.
Lux is the #2 prospect in the country on a team that needs his star production at bargain prices to keep their payroll flexible enough to maintain a championship caliber team. Giving Lux for KB means giving up that flexibility and getting a player that either next year or the year after will cost you upwards of thirty million.
It’s just not in their interest especially long term.
BTW have you seen Lux play yet?
He IS the real deal
If im the Mets…why not throw our hat in the ring…
JD Davis,Nimmo,Smith,Peterson,Gimenez and Sanchez for Bryant and Almora
Young controllable 3b…young controllable cf…young controllable 1b/of..#2 sp prospect in system (lefthanded) #3 overall prospect in system (ss) and 2nd best c prospect in system….
Yikes
Some of these predictions and wishes are hilarious … And the people that think cubs HAVE TO trade Bryant are pure comedy… Cubs aren’t gonna move Bryant unless they are blown away by an offer… Rockies aren’t moving Arenado unless they are reallllly blown away by an offer… Lindor isnt leaving Cleveland without gutting a teams farm… Red sox arent even actively looking to move Mookie, probably the last guy they will move in a deal unless,,,, you guessed it, they are blown away by…
The dumb reds fan who thinks the cubs are gonna give away Bryant cause Stenzel the great couldnt land the MLB farm squad (also known as the Reds) Lindor is a joke.. Stenzel is as valuable as Riley, both dipped but sub par seasons in MLB.. Not saying they arent “good” but they aren’t prime prospects like Tatis, Acuna, Soto, Bichette, and others that actually performed well at the MLB level consistently… I don’t think Bryant is going to bring in a huge package that cub fans desire cause they heard someone report Theo asked for 4 of Braves top 5 prospects… But its called negotiating.. You don’t say well we will take just 1 prospect thanks.. You start high and work your way down, some of You that don’t understand that please come buy a car or house from me lol
I don’t care for Theo, only because I was looking forward to Gleyber /Javy combo for years and he favored to keep Schwarber.. But he’s not dumb enough to give Bryant away for nothing ,, and if teams offer nothing than cool we got Bryant til 2021 in over
The spending spree all the local tv contracts drove a few years ago have finally come home to roost. The Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs are trying to cut payroll. That takes 3 big players off the market. Factor in no one wants to take on a high priced free agent or soon to be free agent and give up premium talent and I wouldn’t expect the names being discussed being moved. If anything happens expect more along the lines of the Kluber deal. Payroll relief and 2nd tier prospects and decent support MLB pieces.
If the Cubs need to shave payroll, why isn’t Jon Lester’s name coming up? Maybe they could move him to one of the LA teams and work out an extension with Bryant?
This could be Lester last year…..Cubs have an option buyout after 2020 for $10 million…….Lester does not have much left in the tank…..and he will go out on his terms…….plus, he has a No Trade clause……if did go to the Dodgers or Angels, there will be some money involved and who pays out his option……..Cubs will see not much in return in a Lester trade……………maybe he might go with Bryant in a Dodgers trade package.. Don’t count on it.