Chicago Cubs: Kris Bryant as a trade deadline blockbluster?

While the Chicago Cubs seem hell-bent on moving Kris Bryant before the season, another solution would be trading him at the deadline if the team starts slow.

Another day, another Kris Bryant trade rumor. MLB Network lists the Chicago Cubs as a potential suitor for Nolan Arenado if they were to deal Bryant before the season. The rumor makes little sense, given the Cubs would likely have to include all of the prospects obtained in the Bryant trade and potentially then some. That doesn’t even take into account Arenado’s contract, and his $35 million AAV salary is somewhere in the ballpark of what they would end up giving to Bryant in an extension.

So while the Nationals wait on Josh Donaldson to sign with a team, they can mull the prospect of parting with Victor Robles in a trade a little bit longer. An avenue that has not been given enough consideration is potentially hanging onto Bryant, at least through the first half of the season. The Cubs still look to be a competitive team on paper, but failure to live up to their potential over the last couple of seasons has created much doubt in the media. Could it be something as simple as they need to play better?

That would seem to have merit, but the recent trend has proven they are not capable of being anything more than a boom or bust offense. And now under rookie manager, David Ross, if the Cubs get off to a slow start, a Bryant trade at the deadline could potentially net a more substantial return. At least then, it is painfully apparent that the makeup of the current team needs to change, and desperate teams ready to make a run down the stretch would be more willing to part with their prized prospects.

The obvious potential downfall is what if Bryant was injured when the Cubs are looking to trade him? He has missed some time the last two seasons, with significant time and production lost in 2018, with shoulder and nagging knee injuries.

The Cubs added the last piece of the puzzle in Aroldis Chapman at the 2016 trade deadline and had to part with top prospect Gleyber Torres, among three other players as well. And while Chapman helped the team end a historic drought, it would certainly be nice to have Torres patrolling second base right now. The move made sense at the time because of the result, so the same could be said of Bryant at the 2020 trade deadline.

The Dodgers are reportedly not interested in giving up second baseman, Gavin Lux, in a potential trade to acquire Francisco Lindor from the Cleveland Indians. However, given the Dodgers’ recent struggles to get over the hump in the playoffs, might they be more inclined to part with Lux at the trade deadline to acquire a bat like Bryant? It sounds like it’s entirely plausible.