According to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score in Chicago, the Philadelphia Phillies have “had talks with” the Chicago Cubs regarding their three-time All-Star third baseman and outfielder, Kris Bryant.
Bryant, 27, the MLBPA, and his agent, Scott Boras, filed a grievance with MLB accusing the Cubs of manipulating his service time in 2015 to gain an extra year of team control.
A resolution was expected ahead of the Winter Meetings, as per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, to no avail. Obviously, the arbitrator’s ruling will have a considerable effect on the return value attached to Bryant in a potential trade scenario.
Bryant slashed .282/.382/.521 with 31 homers, 77 RBIs, 135 wRC+, and 4.8 wins above replacement (FanGraphs) over 147 games (634 plate appearances) for Chicago last season, picking up his third National League All-Star nod in the process.
The career .284/.385/.516 hitter (139 wRC+) plays third base (-1 DRS, -0.2 UZR/150 over his career) and the outfield (+3 DRS, -1.7 UZR/150) capably, as well.
After earning $12.9 million in 2019, his second arbitration-eligible season, MLBTR is projecting Bryant to pull in $18.5 million in 2020.
We’ll keep you posted with new developments.
