Chicago Cubs: 3 players hurt most by shortened season

Kris Bryant

From his service time grievance to the seemingly never-ending trade rumors, Kris Bryant‘s time in Chicago was looking short-lived prior to the COVID-19 pandemic putting the 2020 baseball season on hold. Now, it’s totally up in the air.

After losing his service time grievance against the Cubs in January, Bryant won’t reach free agency until after the 2021 season. To get the big payday that most Scott Boras clients seek on the open market, the 28-year-old third baseman has a lot of work to do.

Since winning the National League MVP award in 2016 when he was just 24 years old, Bryant’s career has been up and down.

Coming off the MVP-winning season, he had a great 2017. He hit .295/.409/.537 and produced 6.7 fWAR.

The next year was a total disaster. Bryant dealt with shoulder issues all season. Although he still managed to play 102 games, his numbers at the plate were a far cry from his typical production. In 2018, he hit just .272/.374/.460 with 2.3 fWAR.

Looking to bounce back from his injury-plagued season, Bryant had a solid 2019 and posted a batting line of .282/.382/.521 to go along with 4.8 fWAR.

It’s been a roller coaster ride for Bryant since taking home the MVP award four years ago, and 2020 would have been a big season for him to prove he was back to his old self as the best player on the team. If the shortened season does happen, he’ll have just half the amount of time to do that before facing another winter of trade and extension rumors.

The best-case scenario for Bryant and the Cubs is that he gets off to a hot start and can maintain a high level of play over the course of the shortened 2020 season, cementing his status as one of the game’s premier players. If that happens, Bryant will set himself up for a nice payday entering his final year before free agency, and increase his trade value if the Cubs opt to shop him again this winter.