The Cubs’ front office and ownership only need to look toward Boston for an idea of how a trade of their best hitter, former league MVP and World Series winner might play out with fans.
The Red Sox’ pending trade of the dynamic Mookie Betts after failing to sign him to an extension has earned the kind of swift and severe backlash that threatens to overshadow the ongoing investigation into the cheating scandal that already cost the team its manager.
In fact, trading Kris Bryant on the heels of the Betts trade is certain to stoke national storylines about how broken the industry’s economic system is when two of the richest franchises in the game choose to trade popular, premier players in their 20s to leverage their short-term value rather than try to win with them.