Cubs Talking to Rays About Kris Bryant, Craig Kimbrel

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Rays are talking to the Cubs about both Craig Kimbrel and Kris Bryant as either individual trades or a package. Rosenthal pointed out that there was no indication a deal is close, but the deadline is coming quickly and teams are going to start scrambling.

Rays are talking with Cubs about both Kris Bryant and Craig Kimbrel, sources tell @TheAthletic. Could trade for one of them individually or both together. No indication a deal is close.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2021

The Rays are currently leading the Wild Card race by 3.5 games over Oakland and are just 1.5 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East, so they have every reason to go for it. What’s more, even the teams sitting behind Tampa in the division are making big deals. The Yankees have acquired both Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo while the Blue Jays just picked up José Berríos.

There’s warranted skepticism among Cubs fans about doing business with the Rays, who always seems to outsmart their trade partners, but Chicago’s scouting department under Dan Kantrovitz should probably get more credit. Keep an eye on this one.