Bryant wants to 'fight,' be prominent voice in labor talks

He already serves as a notable speed bump in the relationship between MLB and the MLB Players' Association. Now, with tensions between the two sides rising, Kris Bryant wants to play a major role in future labor negotiations.

The 2016 NL MVP won't hit free agency until after the 2021 season - thanks to the Chicago Cubs' notorious service-time maneuvering before his Rookie-of-the-Year campaign in 2015 - but the 26-year-old has been closely monitoring how this year's free-agent market has proceeded, and is concerned.

Though one of the sport's biggest stars, Bryant had previously remained tight-lipped about labor issues during his career, including his own high-profile case - though that might be about to change. He's ready to help lead the charge for his fellow players and take a more prominent role in his union.

"This offseason is one that really opened my eyes (to the importance of labor)," Bryant told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times on Thursday. "But now it is. I need to study up, have my voice heard, continue to learn, because this is going to affect us for years to come. And I'd be foolish not to kind of offer myself out there."

Bryant was famously sent to Triple-A for 11 days at the start of 2015 despite a red-hot performance in spring training; he went on to win Rookie of the Year. But the move made him a "super-two" player, meaning he'd have to go through four years of arbitration with the Cubs instead of three and would reach free agency at age 28 instead of 27. Although the MLBPA filed a grievance against the team on his behalf, nothing came of it and his super-two status remains in place.

As veteran free agents fight for jobs and front offices start looking for younger and cost-efficient players, service time issues such as the super-two rule remain a major problem for the union. There were no changes to service time made in the most recent collective bargaining agreement last December.

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Bryant said he wants to take over from Jake Arrieta - who, ironically, remains unsigned - as the Cubs' player rep with the union. He hopes to use his position and experience as a casualty of the system to influence change in future collective bargaining agreement negotiations going forward.

"Maybe the focus (in past negotiations) was on other things rather than some of the more important things," Bryant said. "But I think with this next one, things are definitely going to change and there'll definitely be more fight on our side just because we're going to get the chance to experience the effects of some of the things we agreed to.

"The only way to get what you want here is to fight for it. And I think you're going to see a lot of that."