As the great Al Pacino once said in the famous film The Godfather III, “when I thought I was out, they pulled me back!”
This phrase can be used to resemble the commercial negotiations that took place between the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs in this off-season regarding third base Kris Bryant.
As SNY’s Andy Martino initially reported last month, negotiations between the Mets and the Cubs initially failed. It is like Mike Puma of The New York Post observed, this was because of the Chicago asking price of Mets ranked No. 2 prospect catcher Francisco Alvarez, which was marked as untouchable by the organization.
However, on Wednesday, Martino reported that the Mets and Cubs resumed trade talks around Bryant. Starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks‘name was also released in package scenarios, given the needs of the Mets in their rotation, but this has not been officially confirmed.
A source said Metsmerized, the Cubs were very close to not competing with Bryant during this off-season, before opting to keep him and listen to other teams’ exchange proposals. But, as SNY’s Jim Duquette reported, the Cubs are more likely to hold Bryant until the July negotiations deadline, unless they are surprised by an offer.
Bryant is expected to earn $ 19.5 million this season and could be an expensive lease for a competitor who needs offensive help. For now, it looks like Mets will go with JD Davis in the third, but if that plan fails, we may see Bryant in Queens arriving in the middle of the summer through negotiations.
The 29-year-old is coming out of a disappointing shortened season, in which he hit four home runs with 11 RBI while hitting 0.206 / .293 / .. 351. For his career, Bryant won the MVP and Rookie of the Year award, make three appearances on the All Star and help the Cubs overcome their 108-year drought in the World Series in 2016.
