Cubs: Big things stand in the way of a Kris Bryant reunion

The Cubs have no plans to reunite with former star Kris Bryant. With the way Bryant’s been playing (or not been playing) this past season, why would they?

Chicago Cubs fans’ hearts broke when the franchise traded Kris Bryant back in 2021. The former Rookie of the Year and 2016 MVP gave Cubs fans hope that their club could become something of a dynasty only for Bryant to get traded to the 49ers due to amplified injury concerns.

Turns out, the Cubs’ front office was right. Since being traded, Bryant has played in just 144 games and is currently on the injured list for the Colorado Rockies. The 31-year-old played in 42 games in 2022 due to a back injury; this season, nagging injures again have limited him to just 50 games. In those 50 games, Bryant is slashing .263/.346/.374 with five home runs and 17 RBI, numbers that put his $182 million deal to shame.

With Bryant in a late-career rut, would it be possible for the Cubs to bring him back in August?

No dice, not given the financials, anyway. Plus, the Cubs already have a potential Bryant replacement in utility player Christopher Morel.

Sure, a Cubs-Bryant reunion may stir up that good ol’ nostalgia, but in terms of Chicago’s best course for the future, Bryant is a venerated relic and should stay that way.

Cubs should not entertain idea to bring back Kris Bryant in 2023

Of course, it’s hard not to reminisce about the past. Who could forget his then-franchise rookie record 26 homers? Or his above-.840 OPS in each round of the 2016 postseason that helped break the Cubs’ 108-year-curse? World Series winners should rightly have a special place in Cubs fans’ hearts.

No one has forgotten what Bryant helped the Cubs achieve in his early career years, but bringing him back would be a purely emotionally-motivated move that could do more to hurt Chicago’s chances of making a strong playoff push in 2023.

A reunion would be costly and the Cubs don’t need him, definitely not this version of him. Morel has an OPS of .955 in his second season with Chicago and seems to be trending upward. Bryant, who has no timetable for return for his latest injury, can only watch the Rockies fall further behind in the NL West.

While getting reunited with his World Series-winning club may be the exact thing Bryant needs to get his mojo back, it’s not what the Cubs need right now.

Heading into the trade deadline, Chicago’s third base combo of Nick Madrigal and Miles Mastrobuoni is sagging a little and the club could use some affordable reliable hitting reinforcements with an added emphasis on “affordable” and “reliable.” Unfortunately for beloved World Series champ Kris Bryant, he’s neither of those things.