While Chicago Cubs fans await a ruling on the Kris Bryant grievance, there are still plenty of rumors flying around the third baseman. It appears that the Cubs are going to be looking to trade the superstar, no matter how the grievance plays out.
If the Cubs win, they will have him for two more seasons and reporters and analysts believe they will try and trade him for maximum value. If Bryant wins his grievance, he will be a free agent at the end of the 2020 season. Chicago will then be looking to deal him so that they aren't losing him for nothing.
Because most of the baseball has known the Chicago Cubs are looking to trade him, there have been plenty of rumors floating around Kris Bryant. On Thursday, a new rumor popped up that was the most specific of any of those around when it came to the players the Atlanta Braves could be sending back should a deal get done.
Three of four prospects
Atlanta Falcons' beat writer Paul Crane made an appearance on the radio the other day talking about a possible deal between the Chicago Cubs and Braves. Crane said he had a source tell him that a deal would be done if Bryant loses his grievance and the Cubs could get any three of a four prospect pool they've talked to the Braves about.
The four prospects are pitchers Ian Anderson and Kyle Wright, as well as outfielder/third baseman Austin Riley and outfielder Drew Waters.
Again, the Cubs would not be looking to get all four of these Braves' players but would take any combination of three of them.
Two of the "prospects" mentioned in talks have already seen some major league action. Kyle Wright appeared in seven games and started four a year ago for Atlanta. While he went 0-3 with an ERA over 8.00, he's still considered a solid middle of the rotation prospect.
Austin Riley played in 80 games for Atlanta, hitting 18 homers in that time.
Anderson and Waters never got to the bigs last year, but both had extensive experience in AAA.
Plausibility of the trade?
The question now is just how plausible this trade might be today. Crane is careful to say that the deal would get done if the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves could agree on three of that pool of four players.
He does not say how close either team is to an actual agreement on that.
It should also be pointed out that the Braves are not the sports journalists' beat. It's possible he's someone who heard from a friend of a friend this was happening and doesn't know how realistic it is. As Chicago Cubs fans have pointed out, it's also possible this rumor is easier to remember because Crane doesn't know Braves prospects well enough to come up with those names out of the blue.
Chicago Cubs fans might not know what is to become of Kris Bryant for several more weeks. The grievance isn't expected to be decided until mid-January.