Cubs News: Kris Bryant reportedly turned down "well north of 200 million" offer |
The Chicago Cubs will be handing out buckets of cash to some of their young ballplayers as eight are arbitration eligible.
A healthy Kris Bryant is the centerpiece of the Cubs offense for many years to come. Interesting news on the Bryant front, Cubs management tried to lock him down long-term with a massive extension worth over $200 million according to ESPN 1000's David Kaplan during Wednesday's radio show. "Whispers are telling me that the Cubs approached Scott Boras to do a massive extension with Kris Bryant in the last several months and it was turned down by Bryant and Boras." Kaplan said that the Cubs offer was trying to do right by Bryant. "I was told that the Cubs offer was more than fair well north of $200 million. Not enough." It appears that Bryant and his agent will take their yearly arbitration salary for three more seasons as he won't hit free agency until he is 30 years old. Kaplan went on talking about different trade possibilities with a one-on-one swap of Jacob DeGrom if the Cubs can't work out any deal with Bryant for the long-term. Hopefully, Bryant and Boras know what they are doing but I would have a hard time not taking that boatload of money after missing so many games this season with a tired shoulder. It appears that Bryant thinks he will fully recover and many good years are in front of him to confidently turn down this huge contract. I get both sides from Bryant and the Cubs. The Bryant crew might want to test free agency to get max money for their client and I understand the team trying to protect their investment and prepare for the future with or without Bryant.
