David Kaplan's Report About Kris Bryant Turning Down A Big Contract "In The Last Several Months" Is Being Refuted

All right, so here's a quick recap of the "whispers" that David Kaplan reported on ESPN 1000 on Wednesday morning. 

• In the "last several months" the Cubs approached Kris Bryant and his agent with a contract extension
• The contract extension was worth "well north of $200 million"
• Bryant and his agent Scott Boras turned it down
• A scout who talked with Kap then suggested the thought of trading of Bryant if he had no interest in signing a contract extension before he becomes a free agent after 2021

I mainly focused on Kaplan's discussion, flat out dumb discussion, about the possibility of trading Bryant. But of course that was just good old sports radio talk and I fell for it. The big piece of news was that the Cubs were trying to lock up Bryant long term and he turned down a ton of money. Oh, and the way Kaplan presented it, made it seem like "the last several months" meant you know, recently. We'll get to that a little later because this is now a war of words between Kaplan and a Cubs beat reporter. First, Mark Gonzales wrote this in the Chicago Tribune about that reported $200 million contract extension. Via the Chicago Tribune.

The Cubs, like most teams with plenty of young talent several years away from free agency, attempt to sign those players to extensions in the offseason. But there is no truth to the report the Cubs offered Bryant an extension “well north of $200 million” that Bryant and agent Scott Boras rejected. In fact, there’s no current activity on extensions with Bryant or any of their young core players as they hit the reset button after the 2018 season. That usually takes place after the bulk of the roster for the upcoming season is completed.

All right, so Gonzales says the $200 million-plus offer never happened. Then, Sahadev Sharma who covers the Cubs for The Athletic also refuted Kaplan's report.

Via The Athletic.

On Wednesday, ESPN 1000 host David Kaplan suggested that “in the last several months” the Cubs had approached Boras and Bryant regarding “a massive extension,” worth “well north of $200 million” and Boras and Bryant turned it down. However, sources told The Athletic that the specifics of that suggestion (dubbed “whispers”) are “simply not true.” While the Cubs have approached Bryant in previous offseasons about an extension, there has been no new activity on that front. As is their standard way of going about business, this Cubs front office has attempted to extend many of the young players on its current roster in previous offseasons, thus far with nothing to show for it.

So, Sharma reports that his sources said the $200 million contract extension and rejection of that deal by Bryant isn't true. He also points out that yes, the Cubs have previously approached Bryant about a long term contract, but that's been in past offseasons. So, not in "the last several months" as Kaplan reported. And that seems to be the big issue here. What's the definition of several?

More than two, but not many. So, let's see what Kaplan says about Sharma refuting his report from Wednesday.

For Kaplan, "last several months" means last year basically. C'mon Kap! Just admit you knew exactly what you were doing when you brought this up YESTERDAY! I'll add the video of the segment where he brings up Bryant turning down a huge deal and it sure does appear that Kaplan is presenting the information as being new, not something from LAST OFFSEASON! Here's Kaplan on the Kris Bryant "whispers." [video width="846" height="474" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/cubs-trade-kris-bryant-david-kaplan.mp4"][/video] What's the truth in all of this? The Cubs have approached Bryant about a contract extension. They'd be dumb if they haven't. Bryant really doesn't have any interest in it, but those talks weren't recent and I don't think a specific number was ever brought up by the Cubs. Oh, and Kap just wanted some attention and it worked. Really, trade Kris Bryant conversations? Hey, maybe the ratings got a boost on Wednesday. One last thing, if we're going by Kap's definition of several, then this is also true.

It's not even the middle of October yet and the Cubs offseason is already off to a wild start.