Kris Bryant’s future in Colorado is looking bleaker by the day.
Once the face of a Cubs team that climbed to the NLCS and later snapped a championship drought that had lasted more than a century, Bryant has spent the back half of his career fighting injuries instead of piling up highlights. After a 2017 season that produced 5.7 bWAR, the setbacks started to stack up: a shoulder issue, knee and ankle sprains, left wrist concerns, an oblique strain and concussion symptoms, among other problems.
Then came the move to the Rockies. Bryant was dealt to San Francisco at the 2021 trade deadline before landing a massive seven-year, $182 million contract with Colorado.
The promise of that deal faded quickly. Back and foot ailments limited him almost immediately, and he was later diagnosed with degenerative disc disease that caused him to miss the entire 2026 season.
Colorado now sounds prepared for life without him.
At his end-of-season press conference, Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta was asked directly about Bryant and what role he might have next year. His answer was blunt.
“I think we have to continue to move forward from a roster-building standpoint as if we’re not going to have him,” DePodesta said. “And if we do, then that’s a great bonus.”
DePodesta also said there were no updates on restructuring or deferring the remaining $54 million Bryant is owed through 2028. For a Rockies team that has dropped 100 games or more in each of the last four seasons, that stance makes the situation feel even more settled. Playing in the NL West has only made the climb harder.
For Rockies fans, Bryant has become the biggest free-agent bust in franchise history. For Cubs fans, the feelings are different. They still love him, and when he eventually makes it back to Wrigley Field, the reaction figures to be a warm one - a reminder of the stretch when Bryant looked destined for Cooperstown.
In Other News...
Cubs Could Benefit If Dodgers Finally Start Cutting Costs
The Dodgers have spent years operating like a team with no real roster ceiling, but this offseason could force a more careful look at the books. If payroll pressure and the possibility of a new salary cap start to reshape their plans, a few familiar names could surface in trade talks, and that is the sort of development front offices around the league, including the Cubs, keep a close eye on.
For Chicago, the appeal is obvious: when a star-heavy team even hints at trimming costs, useful players can become available where they were never expected to be. Teoscar Hernandez, Alex Call, Emmet Sheehan and Hyeseong Kim are among the Dodgers players mentioned as possible trade candidates, though any move would depend on health, fit and how Los Angeles wants to balance its roster. For the Cubs, it is the kind of market opportunity that can open quietly and change quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Can't Afford Another Jed Hoyer Pitching Gamble To Be The Answer
The Cubs are already staring at another winter defined by pitching uncertainty, and Dustin May has emerged as one more possible name in the mix. After spending the 2026 season with the Cardinals and Brewers, he is available as a free agent, and the appeal is easy to understand: there is still enough talent in his arm to make evaluators believe there is upside to tap into if the right environment is there.
But Chicago cannot treat him like the entire answer, not with the rotation picture looking so unsettled for 2027. Mays recent struggles make him sound more like a developmental project than a safe fix, which only works if the Cubs have already addressed the bigger-ticket items on the market. The front office can take on a reclamation arm, but only if it has first done the harder work of building a staff that does not depend on another gamble paying off. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs May Have No Choice But To Chase Pitching Another Way
The Cubs are heading into an offseason where standing pat is not really an option. After another year of trying to keep pace, the front office knows it needs meaningful additions to stay in the mix, and the market does not offer much comfort. The free-agent pool looks thin, especially on the position-player side, which leaves Chicago sorting through a lot of uncertainty while trying to find impact where it can.
Pitching may be the area that offers the cleanest path forward, but even there the choices are complicated. Tarik Skubal and Freddy Peralta are among the names that could shape the market if the Cubs choose to pursue help on the mound, yet Jed Hoyer may have to lean on trades and creative maneuvering instead of simply shopping in free agency. With collective bargaining talks still hanging over the sport and a possible lockout in the background, the timing only adds another layer to a winter that already looks tricky. [Read more 🡒]