Chicago Cubs: MLB Network says Kris Bryant isn’t a Top 10 third baseman

For Chicago Cubs fans, this has undoubtedly been the Kris Bryant offseason. We waited until the end of January for the league arbitrator to rule on his five-year-old service time grievance and we’ve heard nothing but trade rumors since the 2019 campaign drew to a close.

But now, we know he’s under team control through 2021 and Theo Epstein can move forward with at least some degree of certainty in regards to what cards are in his hand. The downside, of course, is that while the Cubs awaited their fate, the rest of the league proceeded with their respective offseason plans.

Manager David Ross expects Bryant to be in his Opening Day lineup. After a bounceback 2019 showing where he put up a .903 OPS in 147 games, fans are high on the former first-rounder. But MLB Network thinks differently.

Their computer algorithm, dubbed ‘The Shredder’ doesn’t just think that he’s not one of the best in the game at his position. He’s not even among the top third at his position. That’s right. Kris Bryant is apparently a has-been who’s washed up and now overshadowed by his peers at the hot corner.

What a joke.