The Chicago Cubs haven't found similar success in recent years compared to when they had a core of Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, and others. However, allowing some of those players to walk seems to be the right decision in hindsight.
Again, since the Cubs haven't found much success, it's tough to say that all of their decisions in the past few seasons have been the right ones, but it could be much worse.
Between Baez and Bryant, they have a solid argument to be the two worst contracts in baseball. Baez, playing for the Detroit Tigers, hasn't even been half of the player he was in Chicago. Bryant, who also hasn't been anywhere near as good as he was during his Cubs days, has dealt with multiple injuries and can hardly stay on the field.
That's exactly why Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report named Bryant and Baez to the "all-overpaid" MLB team. Bryant, however, is the interesting one of the two.
"You knew Bryant had to show up somewhere on the list. It was just a question of which position we assigned him, with 15 games started at DH, 12 in right field and nine at first base. Whether he'll make any more starts this season remains to be seen, as Bryant is back on the IL for the third time this season, this time with a back strain.
"It's already official that he will miss more games than he plays for a third consecutive season since signing his $182M deal with Colorado. Even in the 159 games that he has played, though, he has looked nothing like the four-time All-Star, 2015 NL ROY and 2016 NL MVP we once knew. Bryant had a .886 OPS in his seven seasons with the Cubs, but he's sitting at .713 with the Rockies."
Bryant's struggles are a major surprise, considering he's playing for the Colorado Rockies. If anything, many around the industry expected him to play at Coors Field and flourish. While the injuries haven't benefited him, he hasn't been good even when he's on the field.
He's hit just two home runs this year in 133 at-bats and doesn't have more than 10 in a single season with the Rockies.
Getting out of Bryant's contract is tough, too, as he doesn't hit free agency until 2028. Colorado originally signed him to a seven-year, $182 million deal.
There are always ways out of contracts, but another team would have to show the willingness to take him. Perhaps that team believes he can do what he used to at Wrigley Field, but that doesn't seem likely considering what he's shown over the past four seasons.
