Tampa Bay Rays: Grievance Denied- Time to Break Bank on Kris Bryant

The Tampa Bay Rays have a solid roster, but third-base looks like one position they could stand to improve upon. Should the make an offer on one of the top third basemen on the block?

Tampa Bay Rays’ owner, Stu Sternberg, recently stated that the Rays would be willing to spend up to $80 million in payroll if they find the right deals.

They refuse to pay more than their valuation of a player. There’s no questioning the value Kris Bryant presents when compared to other players of his caliber.

Kris Bryant lost his grievance over service time with the Cubs. Bryant argued that his service time was manipulated during the 2015 season and that he should actually hit free agency following the 2020 season instead of the 2021 season.

Players need six years of service time to qualify for free agency. According to the CBA, 172 days on the roster qualifies a player for one year of service time. Unfortunately for Bryant, in 2015 he registered 171 days on the roster. Ouch!

It’s an understandable stance for Bryant, but he really had no hope of winning this. Rules are rules.

However, now that Bryant is locked into two more years of team control, his trade value is less ambiguous.

Bryant is due $18.6 million this year and has one more year of arbitration eligibility before hitting free agency in 2022.

$18.6 million is an incredible deal in an era where the game’s elite players are going for $30+ million per year.

At the Winter Meetings, Rays’ owner Stu Sternberg discussed the Rays’ way by using Didi Gregorius as an example. He revealed that Rays’ management had him valued at $10 million per year. He ended up signing for $14 million so they were out.

With that in mind, you have to believe that Kris Bryant is worth the $18.6 million-plus the players/prospects it would cost…As long as one of them is not named Wander Franco.