Rival Executives Think The Cubs Will Listen To Trade Offers For Their Best Player

I'm just here trying to mind my own business, watching Yu Darvish's new knuckle curve that he learned from Craig Kimbrel and then this flashes across the timeline.

The Cubs will at least listen to trade offers for Kris Bryant?

Here's what ESPN's Jeff Passan wrote on Wednesday in his "Playing 20 Questions with the 2019-20 MLB hot stove season," article.

Via ESPN. So, this is framed as Passan going back and forth with MLB executives, asking questions about the offseason.

Oh, and a number of executives are expecting monster names to be in trade talks.
Wait. Did you say monster names?
Are Mookie Betts, Francisco Lindor and Kris Bryant monster enough?
Really?
Yup. Now, this does not mean all three -- or even any of the three -- will be traded. But in preparing for this winter, rival executives believe the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs are willing to at very least listen on their stars.

OK and it was at this point when fans started the "should the Cubs trade Bryant" debate, but really there's nothing much to argue because although the discussion can be intriguing, right now it's pure speculation.

And of course teams want the Cubs to trade their best player, but how serious are those chances? Still, not very likely. Like 0.1%.

The entire premise of possibly trading Bryant is that he won't want to sign a contract extension and will test free agency because he's a Scott Boras client. He's under team control for two more years after 2019.

Bryant is the wild card. A not-uncommon feeling inside the Cubs organization is the need for a big shake-up. Perhaps Maddon leaving would provide that. The sentiment among some extends to the players too. And with Javier Baez a reasonable bet to stick around -- more on that later -- and Bryant a Boras client more prone to testing free agency, the Cubs may see him as a combination of Betts and Lindor: a star with two years of control primed to hold out for free agency but capable beforehand of enriching a farm system in desperate need of help after years of dealing away its most valuable pieces.

The only scenario that makes sense when it comes to trading Bryant is that the Cubs sign Anthony Rendon. But you know, the Cubs could have Bryant AND Rendon.

Ahh, it's still only August and the free agency buzz is already happening. Can't wait for nothing to happen until February. By the way, of course teams listen to trade offers. That's not really anything new.

But there's still one thing I can't get over. There are so many Cubs fans willing to trade away Bryant just because there's a chance he won't re-sign. I mean, were those same fans also more than OK with trading Jake Arrieta after 2015 because he was a Scott Boras client?

By the way, it may just be talk, but Bryant's expressed on more than one occasion that he wants to be with the Cubs for his entire career. There's also a huge assumption that he won't re-sign if he does test free agency, or that the Cubs won't offer him a big deal, which he would deserve. I mean, look at the Nolan Arenado contract. Bryant has been better and that's probably the range the Cubs are thinking.

Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather keep the best players on the Cubs and add around them instead of trading them away and hoping the return can possibly fill the wholes on the roster. Especially when the Cubs are still in their best window to compete for championships.

Anyway, here's to six more months of wild trade rumors!