After news came out late Tuesday night that the Cubs had declined their $10 million option on reliever Brandon Kintzler, it was widely assumed that he’d exercise his own $5 million option. And that’s exactly what he’ll be doing, as first reported by ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.
Cubs news: Not a surprise, reliever Brandon Kintzler will be exercising his $5 million player option for 2019 after the Cubs declined a $10 million team option on him for next season, per a source.
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) October 31, 2018
Kintzler came to the Cubs in a late-season trade as part of the Nationals’ garage sale, ostensibly because GM Mike Rizzo thought the reliever was a media snitch.