(670 The Score) Cubs star infielder/outfielder Kris Bryant has been the subject of trade rumors for years, but the fervor has reached a new level now with the deadline looming Friday.
Bryant has been patient in dealing with the outside narratives and speculation, but he admitted after the Cubs' loss to the Reds on Tuesday night that it has all taken a toll, calling it "exhausting." Through it all, he has made a point to take care of his mental health.
"That's a great question and it's a great, great topic," Bryant said. "It's something that needs to be talked about way more in sports, in life in general. I'm reading about Simone Biles. It takes lots of courage. Whatever it may be, whatever she did, sometimes you've got to take care of yourself. When you're not in the right head space, there's no way you should be on a stage like that. And I applaud her for that. It takes a lot of courage.
"At the same time, for myself, yeah, I'm constantly working on the mental aspect of this game. And I've never even come close to mastering it or perfecting it, but it's always a challenge and there's always something new, whether it's trade talk or sucking at playing baseball or it's something off the field or just a bunch of worries or the future or the past.
"All that stuff pops into your head and it's just important to surround yourself with people who help you along the way. Pick up the guitar or play some video games, take your mind off it. That's kind of what I do. Chase the little guy around the house. Have some chocolate cake. Some ice cream. That helps. And go to sleep, get nine hours of sleep, wake up and have a positive attitude for the next day."
The expectation across MLB is that Bryant will be traded in the coming days as his free agency looms at season's end and the Cubs have fallen out of contention in the NL Central. It's the first time in Bryant's seven-year MLB career that the Cubs have been sellers at the trade deadline.
"It's just been different," Bryant said. "We've always been buyers at the deadline. That's always been exciting. But this is all part of the journey. It's part of the game, part of the cycle of baseball. I think anybody who's involved in the rumors, we're having as good a time as you can because you can't control it. Any time a rumor pops up and I say, 'I'm going here and Rizz (Anthony Rizzo) is going there, hey, maybe we'll still be playing against each other.' That's what you gotta do, you can't just sit there and sulk.
"You can't control this, so there is no need to stress about it or worry. You can't let all those bad things like anxiety and worry happen."
Bryant and his Cubs teammates such as first baseman Anthony Rizzo are well-aware they could be traded any minute.
"The most important thing to concentrate on is it's just noise until something happens," Bryant said. "I think everybody is handling it fine. I think as much as we would like to play together for the rest of our career because that is all we have known, we know it's not going to be that way. But I think we are OK with things."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
