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Bryant: 'Classy' Cubs considered players' families at deadline

Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Kris Bryant is excited to be with the San Francisco Giants, and not just because they're flying toward October.

Bryant shed light on the process that brought him to the Bay Area as part of the Chicago Cubs' deadline-day fire sale. While boosting the Cubs' farm system was a substantial part of their decision-making, Bryant said president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer also worked to send the club's stars to teams that would suit the players' personal interests.

For Bryant, that meant heading to San Francisco, a short trip away from his family in Las Vegas.

"Yeah, I think that's what (Hoyer) told all of us. I'm going to believe him in that that's what he wanted for us," the All-Star third baseman told reporters, according to Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com. "He sent (closer) Craig Kimbrel to the White Sox. His daughter has a heart condition and he doesn't have to move. That's very respectable.

"(Anthony) Rizzo going to (the New York Yankees) and his family being from there. Javy (Baez) going to play with his friend Francisco Lindor. Me going out west to play for such a winning organization and having my family close by. That's a very classy move, I think."

For Bryant, who's starting at third for San Francisco on Sunday, there are even more reasons to be excited about where he landed. The Las Vegas native grew up a huge Giants fan and idolized Barry Bonds to the point of wearing his No. 25 as a kid.

"Barry Bonds is my favorite player," he said, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. "I still have the autograph my mom went and bought at the mall. It's (in) my room in her house, but the autograph is fading a little bit. Hopefully, I run into him and he can do me another one."

Bryant seems to have quickly taken to his new surroundings. Although he's likely to test free agency this winter, the 29-year-old is already open to considering a long-term deal with the Giants.

"It's definitely enticing," he said, according to Evan Webeck of Bay Area News Group. "I was talking with my wife when (the trade) happened, and we both thought that I would end up here."

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