Cubs, Kris Bryant in Agreement on $18.6M Salary for 2019
The Cubs might not know how much contractual control they’ve got left over Kris Bryant, but at least they know how much they’ll be paying him for 2020. The third baseman has reportedly agreed to an $18.6 million salary, slightly over the $18.5 million projection set by MLB Trade Rumors.
Third baseman Kris Bryant and the Chicago Cubs have settled on a one-year, $18.6 million deal, a source familiar with the agreement tells ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 10, 2020
Bryant just turned 28 and is coming off of a season that saw him hampered by a knee injury, but he still led the team in fWAR and was on pace for a career year prior to the malady. That was enough to earn him a 43.4% raise, though some of that is making up for a more modest increase from $10.85 to $12.9 million last year. Oh, and maybe for having his service time manipulated in 2015.
Speaking of which, it’s high time the arbitrator in Bryant’s grievance gets his you-know-what together and comes to a decision. It’d be nice for everyone involved to at least know where they stand in the matter. Or, you know, he could just string this thing along for a few more weeks.
Most of the other agreements being reported to this point have come in right at or under projections, with a couple — Robbie Ray and Michael Lorenzen — falling well under. We could see that same trend continue with the Cubs, which is to say they’ll likely hew close to projections for the most part. However, it’s entirely possible that Kyle Schwarber could end up with a much lower salary based on his profile and the way arbitration works.
Stay tuned for more as the information becomes available.
