David Schoenfield hands out grades as the San Francisco Giants acquire 3B/OF Kris Bryant from the Chicago Cubs for OF Alexander Canario and RHP Caleb Kilian.
Grades for every MLB trade deadline deal (ESPN+)
Trade deadline tracker: Everything that went down before 4 p.m. ET
San Francisco Giants: B+
The Giants waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and minutes before the deadline, finally struck.
Bryant's season has been a little weird. He was hitting .324/.406/.611 through the end of May, setting himself up as a possible MVP candidate (and the Cubs were in first place). Bryant then hit .114 in June with five RBIs as the Cubs collapsed, but he's rebounded by hitting .290/.405/.516 in July. Overall, it's been a productive season, as he ranks 27th in the majors in OPS. One caveat: Much of the damage has come against left-handers, as he's hitting .342 and slugging .709 against southpaws.
A key here is Bryant's versatility. With Evan Longoria on the 60-day IL and out until at least Aug. 5, Wilmer Flores has started the bulk of the Giants' games at third base. Flores has hit well enough, so Bryant may start in left field, where the Giants have started eight different players and rank 26th in the majors in wOBA. Bryant is probably a better outfielder than third baseman these days anyway -- heck, the Cubs started him 10 games in center field -- so Bryant is a sizable upgrade.
Remember, the Giants have held on to first place despite Longoria, Buster Posey, Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford all having IL stints since June. Posey and Crawford are back, and Belt should be back soon along with Longoria. Add in Bryant, and Gabe Kapler, who has been a master at mixing and matching lineups all season, has another piece to play with. You can still expect to see a few platoons, perhaps at first base and center field. Bottom line: If Longoria comes back and hits like he did before the injury, Bryant keeps raking, Posey keeps OPSing .958 and Crawford keeping OPSing .912, this should remain one of the best offenses in the NL.
The Dodgers made the Max Scherzer/Trea Turner blockbuster, but they still have to catch the Giants. Unfortunately, the two teams have just one series left against each other in early September. It will be a big one.
Chicago Cubs: B
Bryant's career with the Cubs was one of mixed emotions. The Cubs screwed him over as a rookie when they held him down in the minors to save on his service time, and that kind of always hung over the relationship between player and club. There was the incredible high of 2016, when Bryant won the MVP Award and the Cubs won their historic World Series title. He was an All-Star in 2019, but there were injuries in 2018 and 2020 and the trade rumors over the past couple of years that never seemed to go away. Finally, he was the last man standing from the Anthony Rizzo/Javier Baez/Bryant dynasty that never quite happened, but did include five playoff appearances in six seasons. It was the greatest era of Cubs baseball since Tinker, Evers and Chance.
Still, it's sad to see it all come to end, but once he made one deal, it made sense for Jed Hoyer to tear it all down. Rizzo is getting old, and Bryant was never going to re-sign as a free agent. Baez has a .271 OBP over the past two seasons. Hoyer ends up trading nine players -- Bryant, Rizzo, Baez, Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Chafin, Ryan Tepera, Joc Pederson, Jake Marisnick and Trevor Williams. They have re-stocked the farm system in the process.
Canario is the prospect to watch here, a 21-year-old outfielder hitting .235/.325/.433 at low-A San Jose with 79 strikeouts in 65 games. The tools are better than the numbers as he hasn't matched the hype and production from his 2019 stint in the minors, when he hit 16 home runs and 20 doubles in 59 games. The swing-and-miss is the big issue, but there is upside here.
Kilian was an eighth-round pick in 2019 out of Texas Tech and has pitched his way into Double-A after dominating high A in four starts to begin the season. At Double-A, he has a 2.43 ERA over 11 starts with 64 strikeouts, eight walks and two home runs in 63 innings. This is the kind of underrated prospect who can turn into a steal: He doesn't come with a blistering fastball, but hits 90-94 and throws strikes. We'll see how the stuff plays at the upper levels, but the early returns are good.