Louder for those in the back: Bryant WANTS to Remain a Cub Forever

This shouldn’t be news to anyone. Literally, this has been said multiple times over the course of multiple seasons – Kris Bryant wants to be a Chicago Cub for his entire career. He’s said it to the media on multiple occasions, Scott Boras relayed this message to reporters at the GM Meetings, and 670-The Score’s Bruce Levine recently rehashed this concept.

Despite uncertainty over his future, Bryant would like to stay with the Cubs for his entire career, sources in his camp have told 670 The Score. Of course, the catch is he wants his fair value, and his price tag will be hefty. The sides have had talks about a long-term extension at various times over the past three years.

The simple truth here is, the Cubs are infinitely better with Bryant in the roster than off of it. Yes, I understand the concept of trading the star, with uncertainties in contract negotiations, the Cubs don’t want to remain empty handed if he leaves via free agency. Boras clients do have the impression of leaving, but we shouldn’t underestimate what has happened with Stephen Strasburg. Not only did Strasburg, another Boras client, sign an extension with the Washington Nationals early in his career, he decided to return to Washington this offseason after opting out of his deal.

Bryant has been on record starting Boras works for him, and not the other way around. If you take Bryant at his word, and why wouldn’t you, it is Bryant’s intention to stay a Cub. Bryant hasn’t given a single person reason to not believe him as he’s the poster boy for wholesome and modesty. To keep Bryant, it absolutely will require a fair market deal.

And that’s fair.

Baseball players have a finite amount of time to truly earn in this game. So when they have the chance to earn, players try to maximize those dollars.

Fully understanding there are examples of good players that sign undervalued deals for security, we have to also understand those situations are completely different. While guys like the Chicago White Sox Luis Robert (who signed a six-year, $50 million deal) will always be out there, you have to understand the context and differences between him and Bryant.

Robert was a Cuban defector. He came to America with nothing but a dream to play baseball in the big leagues. Bryant was the best college player, best Minor League player, earned the nod as the best rookie in the NL, and became the best National League player in consecutive years. He earned millions in sponsorship deals early, the Cubs offered him record numbers in pre-arb increases, as well as in arbitration raises. He came from a fairly wealthy family with thoughts of being a professional star at an early age. Heck, before he attended college he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2010.

Fans have also pointed at Anthony Rizzo as an example of a player taking the comfort of a deal early as opposed to a market deal later on. But again, Rizzo has a different story than Bryant. Rizzo was a sixth round pick, Bryant was the second overall selection in his draft. Rizzo then had a boy with cancer, was traded to the San Diego Padres, performed poorly in his first professional stint, then was traded to his third organization when the Cubs landed him. These backstories aren’t the same and should provide some clarity on why Bryant shouldn’t accept less money – nor should he be expected to.

Ultimately, this goes down to a couple of rather simple questions, do the Cubs have the ability to pay him market value or do the Cubs believe he’s worth paying market value?

The answer to both should be a resounding yes, but I believe the answer is a mix of yes and no. Yes, they have the ability to pay market value, but no they don’t because of fictitious budgetary constraints that ownership created after they failed in renovations and in maximizing the TV deal. Now they see a golden parachute at the end of the season and are choosing business over baseball.

Fact is, this club saw almost $500 million in revenue in 2019 and will profit some $280 million. While the Cubs ownership are free to run their organization any way they do choose, don’t expect smart and educated fans to blindly follow along, especially when your adding umpteen millions in new TV revenue.

I believe this is a reason fans aren’t lining up to purchase Cubs Convention tickets. They’re sick of increasing prices, elimination of WGN for a super-network, and talks of trading the team’s best players. We’re becoming sick of the rhetoric and it’s showing as tickets that typically sell out in minutes are still on the market.

So while there’s some precedence to trading Bryant, it just doesn’t make sense. Not unless you don’t plan on offering him the money you can certainly afford and he deserves.