Cubs fans are going to love Kris Bryant’s huge hint about his future in Chicago
By Josh Hill
Kris Bryant has commented on whether or not he’d ever return to the Cubs if they traded him.
With the MLB Trade Deadline quickly approaching, teams are pivoting into one of two modes: Buyers and Sellers.
For the Chicago Cubs, the needle seems to be tilting toward the team being sellers at the deadline, with its biggest trade chip being former MVP Kris Bryant.
Rumors about a Bryant trade have been swirling since the winter, but as the deadline on Friday approaches those winds have become howling. On Tuesday night it was reported that the San Francisco Giants might be willing to entertain a Bryant trade that sends top prospect Joey Bart back to the Cubs. The New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays have also had talks with the Cubs about Bryant, although no trade has come close to being complete.
Amid the trade chaos is a human being, full stop. Bryant hears the winds blowing and tries to block it out but hasn’t been shy about answering questions about his future when they pop up.
Kris Bryant press conference featured a massive hint about his future with Cubs
Such an instance occurred on Tuesday, and it’s finally some news Cubs fans won’t want to pretend they didn’t hear. Bryant toldThe Athletic‘s Patrick Mooney that should he be traded before Friday, he would absolutely entertain the idea of coming back to the Cubs in free agency.
“Oh yeah, absolutely,” Bryant said Tuesday, via The Athletic. “Like I’ve said, I love this place. It’s all I’ve known. The familiarity of being here and this city and the people make it a lot easier to say, ‘Yeah, of course, I’d love to play here.’”
This signals a few things.
One is that the door is being left open for him to return to the Cubs in free agency, which could be a dream come true for fans who don’t want to see him leave in the first place. Another thing is that it’s very clear that Bryant doesn’t want to go, and trading him away from the North Side will break more than just the hearts of fans in the bleachers.
But it could also be a masterful troll. Bryant saying he’d be willing to re-sign with the Cubs in the offseason means that he’s not willing to commit to long-term to wherever he’s traded. In saying this, Bryant is potentially tanking his trade value, as a team that might have given up a haul to get Bryant might be extremely hesitant to do that now that Bryant is signaling he’s testing free agent waters.