SF Giants: Three reasons Kris Bryant will not re-sign

At the July 30 MLB Trade Deadline, the SF Giants made a last-minute, bold move to acquire 3B/OF Kris Bryant from the Chicago Cubs. In the deal, the Giants gave up prospects Alexander Canario and Caleb Kilian.

So far, Bryant has been a welcome addition to the Giants lineup. In just 12 games with the Giants, he has slashed .292/.346/.458 with one home run and four RBI in 52 plate appearances.

While Bryant brings strong offensive production to the table, he is also versatile in the field. As the team has gotten healthier over the last few weeks, Bryant has played all over the diamond. This should only continue when Evan Longoria returns. However, there are three reasons why Bryant will not be wearing the Orange and Black in 2022.

SF Giants: Three reasons Kris Bryant will not re-sign

1. Scott Boras Client

This is a big one. It is no secret that Boras represents the vast majority of the most talented players in baseball.

The SF Giants’ most recent dealings with Boras came in the 2018-19 offseason when Bryce Harper was the biggest fish on the market.

While the Giants were in on Harper in that offseason, Boras was able to push the Phillies to give his client a 13-year, $330 million deal. Just by Bryant being one of his clients, that means he’s going to want a massive deal in both years and average annual value (AAV).

However, if there were to be any glimmer of hope, Boras has one other client that will require a lot of money as well – Max Scherzer. After being traded, he will be looking for a new deal since his current contract expires after this season.

So, the hope is that Boras gets caught up with the Scherzer market and waits on Bryant’s new destination until afterward. I know this is not likely, but this could be the only way the price goes down. It is the only hope we have if Bryant does come back to San Francisco. The thing is, Boras deals with this every offseason, which makes this a very unlikely scenario.

The most recent contract we have to look back at from a Boras client that plays 3B is Anthony Rendon. In the 2019-20 offseason, Rendon received a massive seven-year, $245 Million deal from the Los Angeles Angels. This is just another example of Boras driving up the price and the team not getting anywhere near what they paid.

Had Byrant been represented by anyone else there would be a reason to have some confidence that he will re-sign. It is just not the case when Boras is the one representing him.

SF Giants: Three reasons Kris Bryant will not re-sign

2. The Front Office

It’s no secret that the Giants have become one of the most well-run organizations in the league over the last few years.

One of the reasons they have become one of the best in the game is due to the wittiness and smarts of Farhan Zaidi and Scott Harris.

The recent track record suggests that the Giants are not going to overpay and give away too many years for a player who is past his prime. Granted, Bryant is not yet past his prime. He is getting close and the SF Giants do not want to overpay for that.

When we look back on the front office’s recent signings, the max the team has gone is just three years. They did that this past offseason when they reeled in Tommy La Stella on a three-year, $18.75 million pact. Anything more than three years disrupts the team’s flexibility going forward, which is how they got into the bound of needing Zadi to work his magic. Just do not expect the front office to go against the recent trends.

Remember the point about how Harper got a long deal? This is another reason why it will not happen. With a player of Bryant’s caliber, anything beyond 4-5 years is risky. The only problem is that other teams will be willing to lock up Bryant for way too many years and completely risk their future. Everybody knows now that the Giants will not do that.

The Giants will make a competitive offer, but I expect another team to vastly overpay to try and reel in Byrant. If the Giants overpay, that is not good front office work either.