Kris Bryant Tendered 2021 Contract by Cubs Amid Trade Rumors

As trade rumors were intensifying surround Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant, the team tendered him a contract Wednesday.

The 28-year-old has played all of his major league career for the Cubs, dating back to 2015 when he was an All-Star and named Rookie of the Year. Since then, he has gone on to earn two more All-Star nods and helped Chicago to a World Series championship in 2016, when he was named MVP.

In 2020, Bryant slashed .206/.293/.351 with four home runs and 11 RBI in 34 games.

Bryant has long been rumored to be on the move, with reports that several teams were interested, including the Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.

But those original reports have lost steam as of late, with Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal writing that "it was highly unlikely" Bryant was headed to Boston (h/t Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com), while The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal said Washington would "remain unlikely to be a major player for a big-ticket item," which included Bryant.

The move just means that Bryant, who was drafted No. 2 overall by the Cubs out of the University of San Diego in 2013, will avoid free agency, but a trade could still be in the works given that the Cubs are undergoing a major overhaul in terms of payroll and personnel, as reported by ESPN's Jesse Rogers.