Cubs: 5 players ranked among MLBTR’s top trade candidates

Kris Bryant is making things difficult for the Chicago Cubs as they try to make decisions.

When Kris Bryant came up in 2015, he was one of the best prospects in the sport. He lived up to it with a Rookie of the Year Award, National League MVP, and a World Series Championship. After that, however, he started to slow down a little bit. He was injured a bit and that affected his production. In 2019, the last full season before 2021, he was a very good player again but just a tick below his MVP level self.

In the short 2020 season, he dealt with some injuries and wasn’t the same player that we knew. It made it seem certain that he was going to be gone. Everything we said about the Rizzo prediction going into the year was the exact opposite for Bryant. Out of everyone on an expiring deal, he felt the most likely to be gone after the year.

Now, in 2021, Bryant looks like that MVP-level player that we know he can be. He is a great baseball player and an incredibly nice man. He is the perfect “face of the franchise” type of player but they need to get something done. His production this year is going to make him even more expensive.

The fact that he has played a lot of games at five different positions makes it even harder. He has been an elite hitter and an above-average player at first base, third base, left field, centerfield, and right field which is remarkable. That feels like a guy that you keep. MLB Trade Rumors’s piece makes it very uncomfortable because all five of these guys can be valuable but that is the business of the game.