It's hard for me to have empathy for players like Bryant, who will make hundreds of millions of dollars. The extra several million he might not get by being a free agent and arbitration eligible a year earlier will not be a hardship fo him. He isn't entitled to it just because he is talented.
I certainly don't have any empathy for the Cubs or MLB, who have even more money. But they are playing by the rules negotiated with the players union, which is generally biased toward stars like Bryant. Those rules also benefit players ike Bryant, who are usually overpaid later in their careers.
I might have empathy for Cubs fans if delaying Bryant's promotion cost them a playoff spot.
I have a lot of empathy to severely underpaid minor leaguers and exploited players from Latin America who are brought to the U.S., paid meager wages, and discarded as soon as they're not useful. With that going on in MLB, it's hard to get worked up about how the super rich divide up the money.
