Cubs: 3 overpaid players we need to break up with immediately

1. Kris Bryant

Bryant is still capable at the third base position, but injuries have weighed him down from the once MVP-caliber player at the hot corner that he once was. Instead, what’s left of Bryant is not the $18.6 million man plus arbitration on his contract. The Cubs need to rid themselves of Ka-Boom are risk losing him for nothing, as he’s free to walk after this year.

Trading Bryant would’ve been unthinkable even two years ago, but once the Cubs direction was made obvious by the front office, he became expendable. Chicago is unlikely to keep all three of Bryant, Rizzo and Baez. It was always a longshot, as the Cubs lucked into having all three under cheap rookie contracts for the duration of their championship window.

With that window now closed, a player which still has plenty of offensive potential should have a new home by next Spring. In return, the Cubs can net a haul of prospects or even sign a free agent to a one-year prove-it deal if they’re not satisfied with in-house replacements. Marwin Gonzalez and Justin Turner are among the top free agent players available at the position.