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.

Chicago Cubs: Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays appear to be close to serious contention, having made the expanded playoffs this past year and loaded with lots of young talent. If they want to make a move that could help them compete with the big boys in the AL East, perhaps they could consider a trade for Bryant. They could use an upgrade at third base, as Travis Shaw, after appearing on the verge of stardom 2-3 years ago in Milwaukee, has come back to earth considerably.

The Blue Jays have a top-five farm system, so there’s a lot of potential talent there for other teams to look at. Because they have so much to offer, perhaps they would be a potential suitor for a bigger third base name like Nolan Arenado. However, if a team such as the Dodgers, who also have a good farm system, were to get Arenado instead, the Blue Jays could look to the Cubs and Bryant as a consolation prize.

The problem with a potential deal with the Blue Jays, from the Cubs’ perspective, is that they have no obvious third base prospect to replace Bryant; only one of their top 30 MLB Pipeline prospects (Kevin Smith at #19) profiles as a third baseman, and that hasn’t been his primary position. That’s not necessarily a deal-breaker, however, as the Cubs could look elsewhere.

Nate Pearson is the Blue Jays’ prize pitching prospect, but they won’t be parting with him for Bryant. Instead, perhaps Simeon Woods Richardson and/or Alek Manoah could be involved if it’s pitching the Cubs are after; both project to be impactful major league starters. Of their top ten prospects according to Bleacher Report, six of them are either shortstops or catchers, positions the Cubs are currently strong at.

Chicago Cubs: Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers did not sell at the trade deadline this year the way that many people expected them to, opting to hold onto players such as Lance Lynn. On the one hand, they may have missed an opportunity to build up a farm system that currently ranks in the bottom third of the majors.

On the other hand, they may have decided not to sell in order to better position themselves to contend in 2021. They tried a similar approach last year, trading for Corey Kluber before the season started among other moves, but that blew up in their face as Kluber only got into one game while they stumbled to a 22-38 finish.

If the Rangers think they can contend next year and want to upgrade over Isiah Kiner-Falefa at third base, they might be able to piece something together for Bryant, particularly since they don’t have what it takes to land a bigger name such as Arenado.

Any potential trade discussion involving Bryant and the Rangers would have to begin and end with third baseman Josh Jung, the Rangers’ number one overall prospect (50th in the majors) as a potential replacement for Bryant. Jung, 22, was the eighth overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft. There’s a chance he could reach the majors by the end of the 2021 season, though early 2022 seems more likely.

The Rangers’ other big position player prospect is Sam Huff, but he’s a catcher, and the Cubs again are set there right now. The Rangers do have a few young pitchers to keep an eye on; one of them is Cole Winn, who at 20 years old is probably a few years away but was a first-round pick in 2018.