Chicago Cubs: 3 potential outside-the-box trade partners for Kris Bryant

Here we look at three potential “outside the box” landing spots for Kris Bryant, should the Chicago Cubs decide to trade him.

It must be the offseason, because once again the Chicago Cubs are involved in all kinds of trade rumors, many of them involving Kris Bryant. It seems that the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees are three teams that could be potential landing spots for the former Rookie of the Year and NL MVP.

A rumor has also emerged that the Washington Nationals are interested in Bryant. However, it’s hard to see the Nationals being able to deliver what the Cubs would be seeking in a Bryant trade. The only way this could be done is if they are willing to part with Carter Kieboom and/or Victor Robles, which seems unlikely. Otherwise, the 2019 champs are thin on young talent, ranking dead last in farm system rankings.

If we’re looking purely at talent, the Cubs might be best to hold onto Bryant, at least until the 2021 trade deadline. His value may never have been this low, coming off a rough season, and if the team wants to contend next year, as currently constructed, they would need to rely heavily on a bounceback year from their star third baseman.

However, given the projections that he’s going to earn close to $20 million in arbitration, if the Cubs are looking to cut costs, maybe this will be the year the Cubs finally trade him, with Jed Hoyer now calling the shots instead of Theo Epstein. They could non-tender him, but that would be a huge embarrassment to the organization, not to mention that they would get nothing for him.

So, do the Cubs trade Kris Bryant, and if so, what can they get for him? It’s one of Hoyer’s biggest decisions as we get further into this offseason. While we’ve already covered many of the obvious trade candidates, here we look at three teams that haven’t been mentioned nearly as much but that might make sense, should Hoyer decide to deal him.