3 players from the 2021 Cubs who are failing miserably elsewhere

2. Former Chicago Cubs infielder and former NL MVP Kris Bryant

Before the trade deadline last year, the Chicago Cubs traded Kris Bryant to the San Francisco Giants. He became a free agent last offseason, though, and he signed a seven-year deal for $182 million with the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies made Bryant, 30, a full-time left fielder but he has only played in 17 games with the Rockies since he has been out with a back injury. He went on the 10-day injured list in late April, went on a minor league rehab assignment, and even returned to the majors. But he only returned for two games before he was placed back on the 10-day IL with the same nagging back injury.

He is expected to return to the team this week but even in the games that he played in, he hasn’t been his former self.

He has hit .270/.342/.333 with an OPS+ of 83 (or 17 percent below league average). He also has not been good defensively as he has -2 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) in 14 games in left field. Overall, his WAR is -0.2 (0.0 is considered a Triple-A replacement player).

Maybe Bryant can turn things around if he can be on the field and healthy for the rest of the year because the Rockies desperately need his bat in their lineup. Since April 26 (when he went on the IL), they have a .390 slugging percentage, which is 20th in baseball in that span.