Olney: Cubs Offered Bryant an Extension, Source Denies this Ever Happened

Back in 2018, David Kaplan falsely reported that a contract extension worth “north of $200 million,“ was rejected by Kris Bryant and his representative, Scott Boras. Soon thereafter, The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma quashed that rumor, suggesting it was, “simply not true.” Once hearing these rumors, I immediately suggested that you take Kaplan’s story with a grain of salt, and do not invest too much into them.

Bryant himself has denied that an offer has ever been made, going as far as to say, “he turned down this monster extension well north of $200 million, and I’m like, oh, where was that? I never saw that.”

Does Kris Bryant this he'll be a Cub for life? @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/Z1Y9VZzaho

— Krista Ruch (@KristaCBS2) February 15, 2020

Bryant continued to tell anyone that would listen that he wanted to stay in Chicago. He said it again during his press conference during Spring Training and he doubled down on it when he was on The Compound with Ian Happ, Zack Short, and Dakota Mekkes.

“The biggest thing for me is the trade rumors and the narrative that has surrounded me that some people just completely don’t understand,” Bryant explained on The Compound. “They don’t do any research or look at (of the) interviews that I’m talking about. Is that, I’m upset here or I don’t want to be in Chicago, ‘he just wants leave in free agency,’ where have I ever said that? I’ve never said that. I have nothing but great things to say about everybody in this organization, and this field, and this city. It’s like, where is all this coming from?”

The Compound

Happ immediately chimed in to say that it is “an absurd narrative, and the fact that anyone; writer, reporter, fan, whatever, would think that someone who has come up in this city, won the Rookie of the Year, won the MVP, won a World Series – the first time in 108 years – would ever want to leave when a flag would be flown if he stayed here for his whole career, what an absurd thing to think.”

It is absurd. There is absolutely no basis in reality for this narrative.

But, on Saturday, ESPN’s Buster Olney decided to point out the rumor yet again. Olney suggested that because the change in the economics of the game, more players might find themselves getting non-tendered instead of being awarded an arbitration raise. He went on to suggest several players that have benefited from taking deals, by buying out their arb years, would be candidates for being non-tendered. This is where Olney mentions Kris Bryant.

On the other hand, the Cubs’ overture to Kris Bryant — whether you want to call it an offer or a concept — for something in the range of $200 million never went anywhere. Bryant’s camp aimed for free agency. How good would that deal look now, with baseball’s budget rollbacks looming after the impact of the pandemic, and after Bryant’s recent struggles?

ESPN Insider Article

I don’t understand the timing of this Olney report. Bryant isn’t the type of player that would be non-tendered, even after a poor 2020 performance. What is surprising to me is the assertion that “Bryant’s camp aimed for free agency.” This is an assertion that even Kaplan didn’t bring up when he proposed this factitious rumor.

A reliable source with knowledge from “Bryant’s camp” confirmed to me in mid-September of this year that Kris wishes to be in Chicago the rest of his career. That same source has told me bluntly, “NO OFFER WAS EVER MADE, PERIOD.”

Bryant has told us all that he wants to remain a Cub, numerous times. He’s told us that he’s never seen a deal and the source confirms a deal was never presented. Further, why hasn’t Theo Epstein or Jed Hoyer ever denied the deal?

I get why Kaplan would say the contract offer was made, it’s his goal to remain relevant in a media that is transitioning. The way fans consume media today doesn’t allow for them to read the corrected story, heck, they often don’t get past a headline. So while some blame goes to Kaplan for creating this Bryant narrative, much more of it is due to Epstein and Hoyer for never squashing the rumor.

If you recall, when Bryant filed his grievance, which was done in May of 2015, it didn’t become public knowledge until a December report from Jeff Passan. Soon thereafter, Jed told everyone that this was really a big ole nothing-burger.

“It was filed in May – and to the best of my knowledge – it sits in the same place it has been,” Hoyer said. “It’s something we’ve known about for a long time. And it certainly doesn’t change our impression of the player or his representation at all.

“We’ve got a great relationship with Kris. We’ve got a great relationship with Scott.”

NBC Sports

It seemed that Scott Boras was mostly on that same page. He did insist that these rules should be more clearly defined, so that future players wouldn’t be taken advantage of.

“It’s perfectly appropriate under the rules for clubs to say that they can do that,” Boras said. “I just think you (should) have (better rules), a better ethic to it. Because in the end, we want to make sure our fans know the best players are always playing in the big leagues all the time.”

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This was the same approach Bryant had towards filing the grievance. While I’m sure the thought of gaining another year, and possibly hitting free agency this offseason would excite him, he insisted that this was to help further strengthen the language in the new CBA. Even after the grievance had concluded, Bryant’s response never changed.

KB calling out the haters and liars… and social media pic.twitter.com/xf7hgRu9dq

— Dan Roan (@DRoan) February 15, 2020

Bryant may have had the strongest case among any ballplayer that has ever had a case, but they (Bryant and Boras) knew they were very unlikely to succeed in this case. It had always been about helping future players coming through the system.

I took you on this sidetrack for two reasons, the first being, this has become part of the Bryant narrative and really shouldn’t be and second, the Cubs were very quick to respond when it benefited the organization. Bryant isn’t mad about this, he never once held this against the Cubs. They completely understood the language and that this was a loophole that the team would use to their advantage.

The grievance isn’t a reason Bryant might move onto another organization. The only reasoning for that would either be due to the Cubs not offering him a deal, the Cubs trading him, or not offering something to Bryant’s or Boras’s expectation. And no, that expectation isn’t $300 million!

Boras isn’t the bad guy here or in any negotiation. He may play a bad guy at times, but that’s part of his and any agent’s job. Yes, Boras has high-profile athletes that command big contracts. But, Scott represents the best players in the world. The best players get the biggest contracts. Fans look at someone like Bryce Harper inking a deal north of $300 million. They saw Anthony Rendon ink a $245 million deal. They see that Boras has negotiated more $100+ million contracts than any other agent and automatically believe he just takes his guys to the highest bidder.

They don’t see that Boras was the agent that negotiated the first player to ever sign a free agent deal for more than $100 million where the player stayed with their current team (Stephan Strasburg). They don’t see that Boras negotiated a deal for Xander Bogaerts, which was under market value, so he could stay in Boston.

Boras isn’t whispering in Bryant’s ear to leave, if Bryant believes that it is best for him to stay in Chicago – that is something that he will try to do.

“I think a lot of it comes from Scott Boras being my agent,” Bryant continued on The Compound. “I’ve always had conversations with Scott and he’s always like, I want to do what is right for you and your family. Like, I don’t need to do this for you and I don’t need to do that for you, if you want to stay in Chicago, that’s a very real option for you. Scott, he has this big name, but he does what his clients want him to do.

“Just because my agent is Scott Boras doesn’t mean I am some greedy (guy) like, I’ve never been described as greedy and that really gets to me.”

Kris Bryant on The Compound

Now, the vocal minority of the Cubs fanbase has latched onto the narrative that he wants out, wants a $300 million contract, and is greedy. The fact is, the fanbase has zero idea what is going on and they are only making wild assumptions based on how little knowledge they have.

I do think it is a little unfair for a superstar athlete to work in a major sports market, like Chicago. With how influence social media is, it’s incredibly easy for someone to share a poor idea. Then that idea gets a like, and maybe someone else comments how they agree. That provides the person that posted it confidence in his opinion. The others that agree may also gain confidence in the poor opinion as well. Sooner or later there’s an army of bad opinions that believe they’re justified (cause, well, no opinion is ever wrong, right?). That starts shaping the narrative, as right or wrong as it might be.

This is why I look to Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer, and point a finger at them for helping to perpetrate a narrative that is helping to bring the Bryant era to an unceremonious end. Outside of Kaplan, these two have done more damage to Bryant’s reputation and narrative than anyone else in Chicago – and they’ve done so by NOT saying a word.

The Cubs have publicly acknowledged talks with Javier Baez, they have publicly acknowledged talks (or planned talks) with Anthony Rizzo. Both of these players have also publicly confirmed that these talks have happened.

“Obviously, we want to reach an agreement, but right now everything is on hiatus,” Baez told ESPN’s Marly Rivera. “Just like it happened with baseball, we decided to leave it there.”

Know who the Cubs haven’t confirmed talks with? Kris Bryant. Know which of these players has confirmed talks have never happened? Kris Bryant.

By saying nothing, Theo and Jed are very much responsible for the narrative that has been spun surrounding Bryant. This narrative is something that Kris himself has said bothers him, and has even resulted in him removing social media from his phone. It would be incredibly easy for this narrative to change, and it would just take Theo or Jed to either confirm, or deny the extension talks ever happening. But they’ve sat quiet as these rumors continue to be passed along. Not only is it bordering on being unprofessional, but it could have a direct effect on the performance of the team.

Why would they want it out there? Would you want to play for guys that publicly are hanging you out to dry?

Maybe having this report out there helps the Cubs in some way. It may tarnish a player, but with this rumor being repeated it someway benefits the Cubs plans? We’ve heard the Cubs cry poor. We are also seeing teams prepare for COVID-19 to continue to affect the economics of the game in 2021. Perhaps these facts and the narrative help create an environment that assists the front office trade a popular and accomplished player like Kris Bryant?

I would hope the front office knows they can do all of this without tarnishing a good man’s name in the process! Fans are smart. They can understand that the economics, while being good for organizations, also limit what they can do with player commitments. If the above is what the front office is intending on doing, they are playing the wrong hand and they are insulting the fanbase. I applaud what this leadership team has been able to do in both Boston and in Chicago. But this isn’t the way to move forward with Bryant.

If he’s the odd man out, and they want to lock in Baez and Rizzo and maybe even Willson Contreras – fine! There’s still respectable ways to move forward without Bryant. Outside of managing the Cubs fanbase, I don’t see how this benefits them in trade negotiations with other teams? Having a rumor that a player turns down a deal worth, “north of $200 million” doesn’t bring the other team’s best prospects or talent out as conversation starters.

If I were Cubs fans, I would start preparing for a future without Kris Bryant. It won’t be due to him asking for too much or the grievance. It will have something to do with this rumor, the silence from the front office, and narrative they’ve helped create.

By the way, in case you weren’t aware, when Bryant has been healthy here is a breakdown of his gameplay through 2018 and 2019. This is a player that has put up a .987 OPS over that time. This is the kinda dude you build a franchise around, this is the kinda dude you look to re-sign first and fill the pieces in afterwards. This is the kinda dude that changes franchises – he’s already done it here once.