#4-3B Kris Bryant
This next trade is for former NL MVP Kris Bryant. Up until last year, Bryant had been one of the best players in baseball. From 2015-2019, Bryant slashed, .284, .385, and 516, averaging 28 home runs and 81 RBI’s a season over this time. Bryant racked up three All-Star appearances, a Rookie Of The Year award, and, as mentioned, an MVP award during those five seasons. Bryant had a really bad year in 2020 posting career lows in average, OPS and OPS+. The Cubs are looking to make changes this offseason and coming off a down year, and being an impending free agent, it makes sense for the Cubs to look to move Bryant.
Bryant would be a fit in Toronto right now since third base is a need (depending on what they do with Vlady) so he could come in and solidify that position for next season. I think last year’s offensive numbers are a fluke for Bryant as lots of other star players struggled, like Christian Yelich and Nolan Arenado, so I would fully expect him to be back to his old self next season.
Bryant could actually see a spike in offensive numbers next year, as the AL East is loaded with hitter-friendly ballparks and we’ve seen countless players come to Toronto and have career years, and that could be the case with Bryant. Even though I think he’ll find his old self next season, I still wouldn’t give up that much to get him as Chicago is desperate to move him and he’s a rental, so he’ll only be here for one more year. If they’re willing to give him up for nothing though, I’d be all for trading for Bryant.
Potential Trade
TOR receives Kris Bryant; CHC receives SP Anthony Kay, OF Derek Fisher, and SP Josh Winckowski