With the free-falling Cubs reportedly entering sell mode ahead of the trade deadline, could Kris Bryant be dealt to the Phillies?
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Cubs are looking to sell and big names like Kris Bryant, Craig Kimbrel, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Baez could all be available.
The Cubs are now 43-45 and 1-9 in their last 10 games, including three of four to the Phillies. The Phils scored 44 runs over the four game series, improving their record to 42-43, four games back of the Mets in the National League East.
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Chicago has clearly changed their mindset into sell mode.
“I’ve always said you try not to look at the standings too much,” Cubs president of operations Jed Hoyer told reporters before the Cubs hosted the Phillies on Thursday. “You have to look at what kind of baseball you’re playing. We came off an 11-game losing streak. Listen, we’ve believed in these guys since 2015. They’ve had a ton of success, and I would never count these guys out. But 11 days ago, we were fully on the buy side of this transaction and everyone was calling about that. And obviously now, people are calling to see which players are available.
So it’s a very different scenario than we expected. You know, life comes at you fast. Eleven days ago, this is not where we were mentally. Obviously, 11 games certainly changes a lot of things.”
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Bryant, 29, in particular, is a very attractive commodity for many teams. The third baseman is hitting .268/.349/.498 with 16 homers and 43 RBIs this season, reaching his fourth all-star game.
Kimbrel, 33, is a name that makes a lot of sense for the closer needy Phillies as well.
Kimbrel has a 0.57 ERA this season with 20 saves in 33 games, with 54 strikeouts and 10 walks in 31.2 innings.