Brandon Kintzler exercises player option for 2019

Brandon Kintzler was obtained by the Cubs July 31 for minor leaguer Jhon Romero.

Let’s be charitable. His performance with the Cubs was less than optimal and worse than management had expected.

According to this, he’ll be back in 2019:

The team has not made an official announcement of this, yet.

Now, it’s entirely possible that Kintzler could rebound and have a successful 2019. He posted 1.6 bWAR combined between the Twins and Nationals in 2017, which is perfectly acceptable for a reliever of his caliber.

If he could do that, we’d all be pretty happy, and he’d be worth the $5 million.

Perhaps some other team will think that and trade for him. At $5 million, his contract is dealable. The Cubs would probably only want a mid-level prospect and salary relief in return.

Kintzler turned 34 the day after the trade, so he could have another decent year left in him. If he remains a Cub on Opening Day 2019, let’s hope so.