Cubs sign MVP Kris Bryant to record deal for a second service year MLB player
By Dave Holcomb
Chicago Cubs MVP Kris Bryant is already one of the best players in baseball, and the Cubs wanted to make sure he felt that way when he looked at his paycheck.
Thursday night, Chicago signed Bryant to a one-year deal worth $1.05 million. That obviously doesn’t sound like very much compared to other All-Star contracts, but the deal makes Bryant the highest paid player in the second year of his service time in MLB history according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.
Bryant’s deal surpasses Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout’s deal of $1 million for his second service season. Yes, 2017 will be the Cubs superstar’s third year in the bigs, but because Chicago held him out of a few games in early April of 2015, this is technically only his second year of service time in the big leagues.
While playing multiple positions on defense, Bryant slashed .292/.385/.554 with 39 home runs, 102 RBI and 121 runs in 603 at-bats on his way to the National League MVP award in 2016. His 121 runs led the NL, and he was the first Cubs player to win the MVP since Sammy Sosa in 1998.
During the playoffs, Bryant hit at least .269 in all three series. He hit .375 with three extra-base hits in four games against the San Francisco Giants in the National League Division Series. In the World Series, Bryant was only 1-for-14 in the first four games as Chicago trailed in the series 3-1. But in the final three contests, he went 6-for-12 with a pair of home runs, leading the Cubs back to win their first World Series championship in 108 years.
Chicago was the first team to erase a 3-1 deficit in the World Series since the 1985 Kansas City Royals. Even more impressively, the Cubs were the first team to win Games 6 and 7 on the road to erase a 3-1 deficit since the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates.
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As great as many of the other Cubs players are, Chicago wouldn’t have won the World Series without Bryant. The Cubs have every reason to make him the highest-paid second-year player ever.