Bryant is ‘in a really good place’ heading into spring training, Hoyer says
In spite of another long winter of hearing his name in trade rumors, Kris Bryant is still a Chicago Cub with spring training only a week away.
While Cubs President Jed Hoyer reiterated Monday there are no “untouchables” on the roster, it appears Bryant at least will start out with the Cubs in his final season before entering free agency.
Bryant last month voiced his frustration over the way things have gone for him the last couple of years, telling a podcast the game is not as “fun” as it used to be.
“At times, no,” he said. “It really got to me sometimes. The stuff I was hearing. The first trade rumors that started to pop up (in 2018) really got to me. I find myself (thinking), ‘Man, is this even fun anymore? Why did I start playing this game?’ Because it was fun.
“There’s a lot of other stuff involved. You make a ton of money and fame and all this. You have to get yourself back to why I started playing.”
Hoyer said during a teleconference Monday that he spoke with Bryant last week and has no concerns about where Bryant’s head is entering the 2021 season.
“I’ll keep the substance between us, but it was a great, great conversation,” Hoyer said. “Great tone. I just felt like he was in a really good place. I think sometimes with Kris, I think he was very honest. I don’t think he was saying he didn’t love baseball, you know? It was just sort of an honest comment.
“So, no, he was in a great place when I talked to him. Seems like he’s excited to get going, get the season started. Not a concern here at all.”
Hoyer already is at Cubs camp in Mesa, Ariz., where he said about 20 players — equally divided among hitters and pitchers — are working out.
Bryant and Willson Contreras were the players mentioned most often in trade rumors, but Hoyer made no deals this offseason aside from the Yu Darvish trade with the San Diego Padres, and the free-agent signings, including outfielder Joc Pederson and starting pitcher Trevor Williams, were relatively inexpensive.
Hoyer said Pederson basically lobbied to be a Cub, texting him about his interest early this winter and eventually signing a one-year, $7 million deal.
“I like the fact he was taking control of the situation, and I loved the tone in his voice about betting on himself,” Hoyer said. “That’s something that
“He felt he didn’t put up the numbers he wanted last year (with the Los Angeles Dodgers). He felt he was being painted with a brush that he didn’t want to be painted with. And his goal was to find a place where he could go out and prove it. And we had a spot wide open for him and were able to work out the finances.”
Pederson is expected to be an everyday player, Hoyer said, in spite of his past problems solving left-handed pitching. Williams likely will get a rotation spot, and Hoyer said the Cubs could need seven to eight starters this season because of innings limitations caused by the shortened 60-game season in 2020.
Hoyer said he’s not done adding to the roster and suggested the payroll is slightly more flexible than it was earlier in the winter, though he declined to address the budget.
While the Cubs spoke with the Colorado Rockies about Nolan Arenado this winter, Hoyer said it was no surprise the star third baseman wound up with the rival St. Louis Cardinals, the early favorites in the National League Central. Hoyer said he has tried to be transparent with players about their status going into 2021.
“You read trade rumors and something’s ‘imminent’ or going to this team, and there’s been times it’s happened and I haven’t talked to that team in three or four weeks,” he said. “And so, I do think trying to be honest, like, ‘Hey, yes, there’s some discussions that are happening that are legitimate — nothing’s imminent.’ Or just say, ‘Listen, there’s no substantive conversations,’ and try to be honest about it because when you read trade rumors or read Twitter and you react to every single thing, I think that’s incredibly difficult emotionally.
“I really do feel for players having to go through that. Some are very good about blocking it out. But when you start getting texts from all your friends, or your wife starts getting texts from all her friends about these rumors, I think a lot of times that’s when it starts to affect guys. When they start getting blown up on texts about trade rumors, and that’s usually when they check in with us.
“Like I said, it’s part of the game. It’s not going away. And it’s also part of trying to explain to them, ‘As long as you’re playing for a big-market team like this, there’s going to be rumors. There’s no way around it, so you’re going to have to deal with some of that.’ ” really resonates.