Chicago Cubs: Who would you keep of Javier Baez or Kris Bryant?

The Chicago Cubs are not having a good year offensively so far. MLB pitchers as a whole have a better batting average than the Cubs do as a team and that is not a joke. It makes it even worse because some of the stars on expiring contracts are having bad starts as well. The biggest storyline of the season is the fact that Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, and Kris Bryant are all free agents at the conclusion of the season. It doesn’t feel like a scenario that the Cubs retain all of them is possible.

The Cubs probably would have extended all of them by now if they wanted to actually have them. They all seem interested in staying but none of them is going to if they aren’t compensated the way they feel is fair. The problem is, it is hard to decide who is worth it the most. Anthony Rizzo, despite his terrible start to the season, is the most likely to come back.

Rizzo has been the face of the franchise for a very long time and he is probably the least expensive of the three. There is also no realistic contract that Rizzo can get that will keep them from winning the World Series in the next five years. That makes it seem like one of Javier Baez or Kirs Bryant will be gone. There could be a world where they both come back but which would you choose if they could only have one?

Should the Chicago Cubs keep Javier Baez or Kris Bryant if they could only have one?

Both Bryant and Baez have had very successful careers so far. Bryant has an MVP and Baez came in second for one a few years later. They are both members of that legendary 2016 Cubs team that ended the 108 year World Series drought. Both of them are legends in the city of Chicago for being top guys on that team.

So far this season, Kris Bryant has a slash of .250/.357/.625 with an OPS of .982. He has two home runs and three RBIs. You’d like to see him get the batting average up but the OPS is really nice. It is early and a small sample size but we know that Bryant is talented enough to carry on these numbers.

As for Baez, he is not having a good year on the plate so far. He has a slash of .200/.259/.440 for an OPS of .699. He has two home runs and five RBIs which are nice and he also has three stolen bases. Baez helps your team win but he isn’t hitting as well as we have known him to in the past.

Both of these guys are solid defenders in the field so that is not an issue. Both of them have a WAR of .3 a week into the season so they have similar total value to the team. Because of where the Cubs were not too long ago, it is sad to think about having to choose just one of them. Of the two, Bryant makes the most sense to keep.

He is the better overall player in most years. He is a more disciplined hitter and can play multiple different positions well on defense. Javy has had some tough luck at the plate lately but he is also a great player. The biggest problem is that there is big-time potential to make the wrong decision no matter which one you choose. Hopefully, the Cubs get it right for their own sake.