Column: Kris Bryant is in the thick of trade rumors again. Whether he stays or goes will be the biggest decision Jed Hoyer makes as Chicago Cubs president.

The problem with hanging on to Kris Bryant while trade rumors swirl is the probability those rumors will become a distraction for the Chicago Cubs the bulk of the spring.

Team President Jed Hoyer, who spoke with Bryant recently and said the third baseman is in a “really good place,” is now at risk of putting his team in a really bad place. If the start of camp is supposed to get fans interested in the upcoming season, nothing says “don’t watch us” than nonstop rumors surrounding the likely departure of one of your stars.

So either trade Bryant now and get it over with or start camp by assuring Bryant he’ll be around at least until midsummer, giving him a little peace of mind and fans a chance to breathe.

That’s not likely, of course.

“When you give assurances you can kind of tell them the status of conversations and try to be transparent about that,” Hoyer said Monday.”But giving them complete assurances is probably impossible at any given time, given the fact a phone call can always come in.”

There really is no way of escaping the possibility of a phone call, so Bryant Watch goes on, and Thursday brought us the latest rumor — that he was the focus of talks between the Cubs and New York Mets.

It began with a tweet from SNY Mets reporter Andy Martino, who wrote that talks have resumed. Martino later tweeted the Cubs “don’t appear overly motivated” to trade Bryant before opening day, so who knows?

Because any mention of Bryant is likely to move the needle during a typical post-Super Bowl lull in the sports world, his name immediately began trending on Twitter.

And before you knew it, Kyle Hendricks’ name also was tossed around in the rumor mill, also going to the Mets in a blockbuster. Nothing would turn off Cubs fans more than trading Hendricks, and dealing him to the hated Mets would be especially stomach-wrenching. The Rickettses might as well move back to Omaha, Neb., if Hoyer pulls off that deal.

Hoyer was unavailable for comment but said Monday that he “feels” for players who have to deal with rumors — while not mentioning any names.

”As long as you’re playing for a big-market team like this, there’s going to be rumors,” Hoyer said. “There’s no way around it, so you’re going to have to deal with some of that. … It’s hard. I feel for those guys. No one wants to be working out in the offseason or going to play golf in the offseason and getting seven texts about a trade that was never discussed.”

Bryant could always could turn off his phone, but asking a millennial to do that is like asking a Boomer to stop watching “Seinfeld” reruns. It’s not going to happen.

The Cubs could end this saga by signing Bryant to a long-term deal, an option no one talks much about anymore. It was only two years ago Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado signed an eight-year, $280 million deal in spring training, and the media rushed to Bryant’s locker at Cubs camp to ask whether he thought the contract would affect his potential deal down the road.

“Of course I look at him just because we play the same position,” Bryant replied. “But we’re different players. We’re at different points in our careers, different journeys up to this point. But any time you see someone at your position sign for a lot of money, it bodes pretty well for the rest of the guys after that.”

That deal didn’t work out well for the Rockies or Arenado, who asked to be traded last season and was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals last week. He thought he wanted to spend his career in Colorado but quickly realized the team would not do whatever was necessary to win.

Bryant should be asking himself the same question after this winter of budget cutting. Does he want to stay with an organization that isn’t doing everything possible to win? Certainly the Mets, with new owner Steve Cohen, have shown a willingness to spend.

But the Cubs also might have reservations about a long-term deal for Bryant, who is coming off a poor season. He did, however, hit 31 home runs in 2019 with a .903 OPS and has averaged 32 home runs and 93 RBIs per season from 2015-19. Does one 60-game season negate that?

Hoyer said he doesn’t believe looking at a player’s numbers in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season is a valid way of evaluating that player, so Bryant should get a “mulligan” if that holds true. The real question is whether he’s still in the class of an Arenado, who now makes the Cardinals the team to beat in the National League Central.

In normal times, the Cubs probably would look to add on to counter the Cardinals’ move. But this is back to the future for the Cubs, who are operating like its “That ‘70s Show.”

“I do think they’re a really good team, and Arenado makes them better,” Hoyer said. “My experience in this game, I think chasing and reacting to teams’ moves is always a bad idea. You have to make the moves that you think are right and you can make. Reacting and doing those things, I feel like I sort of learned that in Boston, watching the Yankees. Every time they made a move, everyone asked, ‘How are we going to respond?’ You can’t operate that way. But yeah, listen, did the Cardinals get better by adding Arenado?”

Would the Cubs be better off keeping Bryant and chasing the Cardinals in 2021 or dealing him now and starting the semirebuild with a big boom?

It could be the most difficult decision Hoyer faces in his new gig, which is only just beginning.