According to Buster Olney of ESPN (paywall), the Chicago Cubs could be preparing for a fire sale of sorts this offseason and there are a couple of players the New York Mets could theoretically be interested in.
Chicago’s front office is reportedly telling interested teams they’re expecting their roster to undergo “significant turnover” this winter and have been privately expressing a “willingness to move almost any veteran”.
A once-over of the Cubs’ active roster reveals quite a few enticing options for teams looking to add experienced, postseason-tested depth heading into 2021.
Third baseman Kris Bryant, first baseman Anthony Rizzo, left fielder Kyle Schwarber, backstop Willson Contreras, and shortstop Javier Baez — all members of Chicago’s 2016 World Series championship squad — stand out, as do right-handed reliever Craig Kimbrel, right-handed starter Yu Darvish, and outfielder, Jason Heyward.
Bryant, 28, experienced a significant downturn in production in 2020 but would likely be one of the more coveted gems in the Cubs’ cache of available players, along with Baez.
The 2016 NL MVP hit just .206/.293/.351 with four homers and 76 wRC+ over 34 injury-interrupted games for Chicago (left wrist, left finger) after enjoying a .284/.385/.516, 139 wRC+ batting line from 2015 through 2019.
Last January, an independent arbitrator ruled that Chicago did not manipulate Bryant’s service time when they optioned him to Triple-A Iowa for the first 12 days of the 2015 MLB season, making him arbitration-eligible for the final time in 2021 and a free agent heading into 2022.
Baez, 28, also had a disappointing (.203/.238/.360, 57 wRC+ in 59 games) after a multi-year stretch of success in Chicago (.281/.319/.500, 111 wRC+ from 2015 through 2019), and is set to become a free agent after the 2021 season, as well.
Bryant was due to earn $18.6 million in 2020 and Baez was set to make $10 million, both in their second-to-last years of arbitration eligibility.
Darvish, 34, finished second in National League Cy Young Award voting this season after his gem of a year for the Cubbies (2.01 ERA, 2.23 FIP, 11.01 K/9, 1.66 BB/9, 0.59 HR/9 over 12 starts) and is under contract through the 2023 season and is still owed $59 million.
We’ll keep you posted with new information as it becomes available.
