Former beloved Cubs superstar has his eyes set on redemption this season

The decision to not pursue reunions with Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant after the 2021 season put Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer squarely in the crosshairs of an angry, jaded fanbase who never got the dynasty they thought would come to be in the wake of the team's historic 2016 World Series championship

That decision has proven to be shrewd, with Rizzo being the only one of the three who has put up even semi-respectable numbers since leaving Chicago. In his first three years with the Detroit Tigers, Baez has been worth just 1.8 bWAR - at a price tag of $73 million. Meanwhile, Bryant, a former National League MVP and Rookie of the Year, has been even worse: a -1.3 bWAR at a cost of $74 million to the Colorado Rockies.

Injuries have limited the former first-rounder to just 159 games over the last three years, including only 37 last season - a personal low outside of the shortened 2020 campaign. Bryant is hoping 2025 can be a clean slate, though, as he looks to put together his first full body of work since leaving the North Side at the 2021 trade deadline, when Hoyer dealt him to the San Francisco Giants.

“I’m always super hard on myself, but this offseason, I’m at peace with what I’m seeing, and I’m super encouraged,” Bryant told reporters recently. “It’s put me in a good headspace.”

The Rockies need Bryant to produce at the plate - after all, he's got four years and more than $100 million left on his deal - the largest free agent signing in Colorado franchise history. He's been a shell of the player who drove the Cubs' offense in the first half of his career, earning four All-Star selections, a Rookie of the Year Award, an MVP and a World Series ring - slashing .279/.378/.508 in a Chicago uniform.

The relationship between Bryant and the Rockies has been tenuous, to say the least, with Bryant going so far as to suggest he had regrets about his free agency decision in comments during the 2024 season. It seems the only way to put things back on an even heel would be for him to stay on the field for more than a few dozen games in 2025.

Seeing Bryant return to form - or, for starters, just stay healthy for an entire season, would be a welcome sight for Cubs fans everywhere. We're talking about a guy who had future Hall of Famer written all over him early on but has seen his career go completely off the rails over the last few years. Watching him do what he did best for so many years would be something all of us would love to do again before he hangs his spikes up and calls it a career.