Chicago Cubs: Grievance hearing not good look for Kris Bryant

If Kris Bryant wins his grievance hearing against the Chicago Cubs, he could become a free agent a year earlier than planned.

Back in 2015, in the first year of the Joe Maddon era, the Chicago Cubs were getting set to open another season. The team was coming off a 73-89 record but a new manager, a couple of big free agents signed in the offseason, and a plethora of promising prospects set to make their big league debut had the team and the fans excited. One of those prospects was 23-year-old, Kris Bryant.

Selected with the 2nd overall pick of the 2013 MLB Draft, Bryant was considered to be the best hitting prospect in the draft and quickly rose through the minors. He finished his 2013 season playing in rookie league, Single-A, and High-A. He was promoted to Double-A for the 2014 season and finished at Triple-A, slashing a combined 0.325/0.438/0.661 with 34 doubles, 43 home runs, and 110 RBI in 138 games.

The Cubs had a difficult decision to make entering the 2015 season with their top prospects. 18 days or fewer in the minors and Bryant would become a free agent after the 2020 season. He was promoted on April 17, one day after both Mike Olt suffered a fractured wrist and his service clock kicked in to make him a free agent after the 2021 season.

After the 2015 season, Bryant filed a grievance against the Cubs claiming that they manipulated his service clock to gain an extra year of control and his hearing is set to be heard this week, nearly four years to the date after the filing. And if he wins his case against the Cubs, he’ll become a free agent after the 2020 season.

This is a terrible look for Bryant and could potentially have adverse impacts on the Cubs signing him to an extension. Theo Epstein had already stated that he will have a chat with some of the younger core players if they are interested in extensions, which presumably includes Bryant, but all I can think is that this will leave a bad taste in Epstein’s mouth.

Bryant is, arguably, going to be the most difficult player to re-sign of the younger core given that his representation is Scott Boras. But Bryant winning his case also hurts his immediate trade value because teams would only have to wait another season when he’ll be 29-years-old. It sounds crazy but that sounds a heck of a lot better than signing a 30-year-old free agent. It’s the same principle why I stop the gas pump at $19.99, instead of going another penny because it looks better.

His market value as a free agent is currently projected at $25.8 million AAV, and he’s projected to get $12.4 million in arbitration for next season. Bryant missed a ton of time during the 2018 season with a shoulder injury and a few games last season with swelling in his knee and an ankle injury at the end of the year.

Still, when healthy, Bryant is one of the best players in the game but this grievance hearing is just a really bad look for him and could potentially put a strain on his relationship with the Cubs brass long-term.