Cubs will trade these players before this summer’s trade deadline

Cubs: Kris Bryant is undoubtedly the team’s biggest question mark

Which Kris Bryant will we see in 2021? The guy who burst onto the scene a half-decade ago, winning NL Rookie of the Year only to follow it up with MVP honors and a World Series title the next year or the one who limped through the shortened 2020 campaign and put up the worst numbers of his career?

The Cubs better hope it winds up being the former rather than the latter. Despite all the Kris Bryant rumors we’ve heard already this offseason, I find it pretty hard to believe they’re going to trade him away for pennies on the dollar when they’d be much better off taking a wait-and-see approach.

We know payroll seems to be dictating every move the front office makes right now, but with Chicago firmly under the luxury tax threshold, shedding money just to shed money isn’t a prudent move. When he’s healthy, Kris Bryant is one of the best players, not just on the team, but in all of baseball.

If the two sides don’t work out a long-term extension to keep Bryant in the Windy City, then the Cubs need to be all-in on a rebound campaign in hopes of trading him ahead of the trade deadline. An MVP-caliber bat in the middle of the order, capable of playing multiple positions? That’s what dreams are made of – and the type of move that can put a club over the top come October.