[ad_1]
Kris bryant is piquing the interest of several teams as the trade deadline approaches, with MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link) noting that the Mets are one of the clubs considering the NL’s former MVP. There is no indication that the Cubs are close to a deal with the Mets or any other team over Bryant, although tonight’s exchange of Pederson game indicates that the Cubs are indeed open for business with more than two weeks before the trade deadline.
This isn’t the first time Bryant has been linked with the Mets, as Chicago and New York have reportedly had talks involving Bryant during the offseason (although Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said reports on these threads were inaccurate). Speculatively, if Jd davis has indeed been discussed as part of a potential commercial comeback and if he’s still on the Cubs’ radar, there might be nothing going on between the Mets and the Cubs about Bryant until Davis makes his expected return from the injured list on Friday and shows that he is in good health. A pair of Davis’s left hand injuries have limited him to just 14 games this season.
It’s no surprise that the Mets (or any other contender) are checking out Bryant, given his potential value as a difference maker for a team in October. Bryant rebounded from an injury-plagued 2020 to hit .271 / .353 / .502 with 16 home runs in 329 home plate appearances this season, with the caveat that most of that production took place in the first two months. As of June 1, Bryant has just .568 OPS and four home runs in 117 PA, and his Statcast numbers are strong overall but poor when it comes to hard contact numbers.
With free agency approaching this winter, Bryant has plenty of reasons to step up his efforts for the remainder of the season and position himself for a big free agent contract. Considering the business speculation that has been swirling around Bryant for over two years now, it wouldn’t really be surprising to see him take off at the plate if / when he was finally treated.
The Mets’ projected luxury tax number is approximately $ 13.5 million below the $ 210 million threshold. Bryant’s $ 19.5 million salary relies entirely on the tax bill for average annual value purposes, even though more than half of the actual money has already been paid to the slugger, so Bryant’s acquisition at it alone would put New York above the tax line, unless other contracts were moved to Cubs or other trades. Mets owner Steve Cohen said he was open to crossing the tax threshold under the right circumstances and apparently would rather lose the $ 210 million figure than go over it by a small amount. If Cohen allowed such a push, the financial aspect of a trade with Bryant might not be an issue for the Mets.
On the pitch, Bryant obviously brings a lot of value to the leaders of NL East. As Heyman notes, Bryant’s ability to play in multiple positions (both the inside corners and the outside three points) adds to his value, especially for a New York team that didn’t have a lot of production and which seeks to consolidate the third base.
[ad_2]
Source link