Saw this from Ken Rosenthal and thought about this thread
Bryant: Not necessarily a fit for Braves
Bryant ranked 15th in the NL with a .903 OPS in 2019, but he has dropped from 14th to 22nd to 31st in defensive runs saved at third base the past three seasons, which is one reason the Braves and other clubs are not necessarily enamored with him at the position.
Naturally, the Cubs will want a presentable return for a player who was the 2016 NL MVP. Bryant, 27, also will be expensive, though not as expensive as Donaldson will be as a free agent, and for fewer years.
MLBTradeRumors.com projects Bryant to earn $18.5 million in arbitration, and his number will be even higher in 2021 — again, assuming that he has two seasons of club control remaining instead of one.
Eventually, the Braves must make a choice.
If they fail to trade for Bryant, re-sign Donaldson or sign free-agent outfielder Marcell Ozuna — a player in whom they currently have only limited interest, according to sources — they might be down to new catcher Travis d’Arnaud as their cleanup hitter. Such a plan would be dubious, considering d’Arnaud will not play every day.
The Braves won the NL East in 2018 with a non-traditional cleanup hitter — Nick Markakis, who, like No. 3 hitter Freddie Freeman, bats left-handed. That said, the team obviously would benefit from an upgrade over Austin Riley and/or Johan Camargo at third base. Riley remains unproven and Camargo regressed with reduced playing time last season.