Chicago Cubs have heard from Braves, Phillies on Kris Bryant

Chicago Cubs: Bryant to Phillies, Braves or free agency

Chicago is claiming in the grievance hearings that they are a busy organization; Bryant was not ready to come up and maybe they didn’t have spot at the time for him because they were still breaking in some other bucks on the team to get the season kicked off.

All of those reasons are perfectly legitimate for keeping any player and not just a future star like Bryant down those two weeks. Was the team that calculating and mischievous to actually plot a scheme to obligate a player an extra year? This is what MLB has to consider right now in the grievance filed by the MLBPA on behalf of Bryant.

So why are we talking about Atlanta and Philadelphia? As WGN’s Andy Koval writes, both teams have a lot of young talent that could be up for grabs in a potential Bryant deal.

"“Both clubs look like they have the necessary prospects to pull off a Bryant trade if the Cubs want a pool of young players back. Possible fits from the Phillies are third baseman Alec Bohm, right hander Spencer Howard and middle infielder Bryson Stott. According to MLB, the Braves have a better farm system than Philadelphia. Possible prospect fits are outfielder Cristian Pache, RHP Ian Anderson and RHP Kyle Wright."

With Chicago invested so heavily in older talent that played an instrumental role in their 2016 title run, they haven’t focused on developing the new generation of impact talent – regularly using said talent as trade chips. But with the team in a payroll crunch, shedding Bryant’s projected $18.5 million salary could help lessen the massive spending the Cubs have had the past couple years.