Paul Sullivan: Relaxed and ready for whatever happens, Cubs' Kris Bryant finally at ease after enduring trade rumors, injuries and the worst season of his career

Kris Bryant began most mornings at spring training last year answering questions from a half-dozen or so reporters, some standing in line at his locker for interviews.

It started on the first day of camp when manager David Ross hinted Bryant may be the new lead-off man, and it continued almost every day for several weeks, whether the subject was labor negotiations, free agency, the Cubs’ lack of spending, the impending birth of his son, or any number of other subjects.

At one point a Cubs employee suggested the media give Bryant a break.

“You’re wearing him out,” he said. “It’s only spring training.”

Bryant didn’t seem to mind, and never turned down a request to talk.

But then spring training abruptly ended March 13 because of COVID-19 , and when the regular season kicked off in the summer access to players was limited to Zoom calls. Bryant was spared the daily interrogations, so no one could wear him out during the shortened 60-game season.

But nothing went as planned. Bryant disappointed in the leadoff spot, suffered a left wrist injury early on and suffered through the worst season of his six-year career. By the end of September, he was so flustered by the constant criticism on social media and talk-radio he made his famous declaration: “I don’t give a (bleep).”

It was the first time most of us had heard him curse, so he repeated it for us for emphasis.

“Heavy,” Ross said afterwards. “For Kris Bryant to say, ‘I don’t give a (bleep),’ that’s a powerful statement. That makes me smile.”

Flash-forward five months, Bryant is back in Mesa, Ariz., again, and also appears to be back in his comfort zone.

There are still lingering questions to be answered about his hitting, and concerns over COVID-19 remain part of every spring training camp as the nation gradually gets access to the vaccine.

But another offseason of dealing with trade rumors is behind him, and having his infant son, Kyler, around to play with after work helps keep the focus on the more important things in life.

“I’m feeling a little, I don’t want to say normal, but way better than last year,” Bryant said Friday during an in-game interview with Marquee Sports Network’s Elise Menaker. “We know what to expect now, we know how to keep ourselves safe… It’s just nice to see people in the stands and cheering us on.

“It feels like spring training now, as best as we can. I’m really happy to see what I’[m seeing now and just really trying to enjoy it. Whatever happens this year happens. We’re ready to embrace anything.”

Bryant credited President Jed Hoyer for dealing with him honestly about the possibility of being traded.

“Maybe I’ve been waiting for that a little bit the last couple years,” he said. “Not saying that I deserve it or any of that, but it’s just really nice to hear the guy in charge easing my mind a little, because at the end of the day I am human and I hear some of the things all there and all of the rumors.

“It’s nice to know that I’m a Chicago Cub right now.”

The operative words are “right now.”

Bryant realizes it may be temporary. If agent Scott Boras can’t get an agreement on an extension before the July 31 trade deadline, there’s little chance he’ll remain a Cub, no matter where they are in the standings.

Even Bryant’s biggest supporters know Hoyer must do what’s best for the organization, and if Bryant has a rebound season in the first half he should be the most valuable trade chip on the roster. But if he gets through spring training without being dealt, Bryant probably will be around at least half the season, since blockbuster trades seldom happen in April and May.

Still, they do happen in spring training, and one of the biggest deals in franchise history occurred at the end of spring in 1984 when general manager Dallas Green acquired outfielders Gary Matthews and Bob Dernier from Philadelphia in a five-player deal that sent Bill Campbell and Mike Diaz to the Phillies.

Matthews and Dernier not only helped turn around the franchise, but the ’84 Cubs are credited by real estate experts for turning the relatively run-down Wrigleyville neighborhood into a hot spot.

The rest is history.

Wrigley Field became a destination that many prominent players wanted to call home, and from Andre Dawson to Alfonso Soriano to Jon Lester, several big-name free agents readily accepted the challenge of coming to the North Side to try and end the curse.

“Every player should be a Cub for one year,” former first baseman Eric Karros said in 2003, a statement that resonates to this day.

Bryant, Lester and their 2016 teammates actually got the job done, so their place in Cubs history is secure. But nothing is guaranteed in this game. Lester was left unsigned after last year, and Jake Arrieta discovered when he signed a three-year, $75 million deal with the Phillies, the grass is not always greener elsewhere, no matter the wheelbarrow full of money.

If this indeed is Bryant’s last year in Chicago, at least he’s embracing everything about it, including the nasty weather that lies ahead.

“Cold Aprils in Chicago with the wind in our face,” he said on the Marquee broadcast. “Just got to get through those months and it’s smooth sailing from there. That’s what makes Chicago Chicago.”

Surviving is what it’s all about in Chicago. It looks like he’s got that part down.