New Kris Bryant Trade Prediction...Isn't Awful

I'll still hate it because the Cubs shouldn't be trading away their best player when they're supposedly trying to win in 2020 and if they trade Kris Bryant it's not like they'll suddenly join the Anthony Rendon pursuit. Maybe going after Josh Donaldson IF Bryant is traded can be justifiable. If, by a miracle, they do end up going after Rendon, then all right, fine.

Anyway, the Bryant trade rumors aren't going to slow down any time soon, especially with the Winter Meetings underway in San Diego this week. Those rumors will only pick up more steam after The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported on Sunday that the Cubs are trying to move payroll before even entering serious negotiations with free agents...even the lower tier free agents.

Cool.

One team that keeps popping up in Bryant trade rumors is the Braves. They need a third baseman and have a deep farm system, filled with several good pitching prospects and a couple highly rated outfield prospect. The Cubs need young, controllable pitching and a center fielder.

With that said, this Bryant trade prediction by ESPN's Jesse Rogers isn't actually awful compared to the other trash proposals thrown out this offseason. It's pretty simple, as the Cubs would trade Bryant for left-handed starting pitcher Max Fried and top prospects.

Rogers kind of takes the easy way out by not saying which top prospects, but that allows us finish off the trade.

Max Fried, 25, has a 3.83 ERA in 225.1 innings with the Braves. In 2019, he made 30 starts, struck out 173 batters in 165.2 innings and had a 4.02 ERA. He's solid and has plenty of upside the Cubs want, while also being under team control through the 2024 season and won't be arbitration eligible until after the 2021 season.

As far as the Braves prospects go, if the Cubs are trying find their center fielder of the future they could pick from Cristian Pache or Drew Waters. Pache, 21, is the 11th ranked prospect in MLB Pipeline's top-100 list. Waters, 20, is ranked 23rd.

Top pitching prospects? The Braves have those too. There's right-hander Ian Anderson and Kyle Muller had a good year at Double-A, as another possible trade chip Atlanta could use in a deal. Anderson, ranked as the 31st best prospect in baseball, was great in 2019 at Double-A, but struggled against the juiced ball in his final five starts in Triple-A.

A combination of those players would be OK, I guess.

But again a reminder that although there's plenty of speculation about big trades involving the Cubs this offseason, we haven't really seen any direct connections other than the Astros being interested in Willson Contreras. His name will also pop up in more trade rumors.