Chicago Cubs asking for 'too much money' for Kris Bryant, says ex-GM

It’s been a quiet MLB offseason for Chicago Cubs so far. While the Cubs did sign minor league utility player in Carlos Asuaje, there hasn’t been much action to report from the Chicago franchise. The lack of activity is surprising. This is despite them letting go of Cole Hamels ($20 million), Ben Zobrist ($14 million), Steve Cishek ($6.5 million), Pedro Strop ($6.5 million), Brian Duensing ($3 million), Tony Barnette, Xavier Cedeno and various other salary commitments.

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Chicago Cubs silent offseason dominated by Kris Bryant's grievance case

Despite losing more than $60 million in salary commitments, the Chicago Cubs are still above the luxury tax threshold which makes it quite difficult for the Cubs to conduct business freely. Add to that Kris Bryant’s pending grievance case, the Cubs have been forced to remain silent in the offseason. If Kris Bryant wins the case, he is eligible to apply for free agency after 2020. If he loses, it would mean that he will be contracted for another two years.

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Former GM slams Chicago Cubs' asking price for Kris Bryant

Former Chicago Cubs GM has slammed the organisation while suggesting that their asking price for Kris Bryant is a ‘joke.’ He further said that Bryant is not the same player he was two seasons ago. He added that Bryant is not worth that much anymore. Kris Bryant’s attacking numbers have declined from his magnificent 2016 and 2017 seasons when he combined to slash .293/.397/.546. In the two years since then, Bryant has hit .278/.379/.496. Those numbers are still good. His 2019 was a step up from 2018 when he missed a third of the season due to injury.

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Difficult for Chicago Cubs to sell Kris Bryant at that price: Former GM

The former Chicago Cubs general manager said that he understands that the Cubs need to ‘jumpstart’ their team and are hence asking too much for Kris Bryant. He further added that he does not believe that any MLB franchise would pay the Chicago Cubs their asking price for Bryant. It means that either the Cubs will have to lower their asking price or find other effective options to cut down on their payroll.

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