The Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs have reportedly discussed a Nolan Arenado-Kris Bryant swap, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago.
“This is something I heard very recently. Yes, Arenado would love to play for the Cubs, I agree with [ESPN's] Jeff [Passan] on that, but I’ll go one step further. They’ve even discussed a one-for-one deal, Kris Bryant for Nolan Arenado, where the Rockies pick up a good portion of Arenado’s salary over the length of the contract – I’m talking $7 or $8M per year. That’s how much they need to get rid of Arenado and he wants out,” said Rogers.
This rumor comes after Bryant lost his grievance against the Cubs in which the third baseman sought an extra year of service time. The arbitrator's decision to rule in favor of Chicago was not surprising, as Bryant was called up one day short of what would have been a full year in April 2015.
With the decision, Bryant will now be a free agent in 2021 rather than 2020, which obviously has a significant impact on his trade value, as teams would now be able to acquire Bryant with the comfort of knowing that he would not be able to walk via free agency next offseason.
Arenado has also expressed some displeasure in Colorado, as the Rockies have been shopping him just one year after signing him to a massive contract extension.
A fellow third baseman himself, Arenado has also not been happy with Colorado's lack of commitment toward improving the team. The Rockies went just 71-91 last season, which was just ahead of the last-place San Diego Padres. Colorado has had a rather quiet offseason, outside of all the Arenado rumors.
Both Arenado and Bryant are widely considered two of the best third baseman in baseball.
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