Chicago Cubs: Kris Bryant seems more open to an extension – just not right now

Chicago Cubs superstar Kris Brya nt held court with the media on Monday.

It’s been a whirlwind of a year for a lot of reasons – and that’s also the case for Kris Bryant. The 2016 National League MVP became a father this spring and is now back with his Chicago Cubs teammates at Summer Camp after the league hit the brakes on spring training in mid-March.

If Major League Baseball can get its testing shortcomings ironed out and COVID-19 outbreaks across the country can be contained, we may be mere weeks from Opening Day. The Cubs will open the abbreviated 60-game season on July 24 at home against the Milwaukee Brewers and, in fact, will host the Brew Crew for seven of their 10 matchups this summer.

This winter, trade speculation surrounded Bryant as the Cubs looked desperate, at times, to reset their luxury tax penalties by getting under the $208 million luxury tax threshold. The front office failed to both trade the former NL Rookie of the Year and cut the necessary payroll to get under the threshold and the team may be worse off for it.

Chicago Cubs: Kris Bryant is one of those all-around greats

Bryant, 28, is coming off a rebound campaign, of sorts, in which he batted .282/.382/.521 in 147 contests, belting 31 home runs and smacking 35 doubles. After an injury-ravaged 2018 performance, this was a return-to-form for KB, who has been one of the league’s best offensive players since breaking onto the scene five years ago.

Still, he gets a lot of hate from too many fans. Some call him soft because of his past injuries. Others seem to believe he lacks that ‘clutch’ gene the game’s greatest players possess (even though this is a wildly inaccurate description). Then, you have the people who think he’s another greedy, money-hungry superstar; one the Cubs may be better off without after next season when his contract expires. 

All of those assessments miss the mark by a pretty wide margin. His on-field numbers speak for themselves. Since 2015, only two players – Mookie Betts and Mike Trout – have accumulated more WAR than Bryant, per Fangraphs. Time and time again, he has shown himself to be a thoughtful, well-spoken individual off the field – something he demonstrated once again on Monday at Wrigley Field.

He covered an array of topics, including the league’s issues with timely testing and reporting with its COVID-19 protocol, his personal feelings regarding safety at workouts and the recent drawn-out battle between the league and players in talks that culminated in the 60-game format for this year.

But perhaps what will catch most fans’ eye are his brief remarks regarding a potential future extension with the Chicago Cubs.