Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer spoke to reporters, including Jesse Rogers of ESPN, relaying that outfielder Jason Heyward will not be with the club in 2023. That would be the last year of Heyward’s contract, but it seems the club will go in a different direction. Heyward is currently on the injured list with a knee injury, which Hoyer says he is unlikely to return from this year, per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times. That means it’s possible Heyward has already appeared in his last game as a Cub. Hoyer says that Heyward will eventually be released, but will stick around the clubhouse while on the IL for the rest of the year due to his respected clubhouse presence, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. Hoyer says that he and Heyward have discussed the situation “at length,” per Rogers, with the Cubs wanting to give more time to younger players but Heyward wanting to continue playing. By releasing him for the offseason, he can return to free agency and look for his next team this winter.
It’s a noteworthy but hardly shocking development, considering how Heyward has performed over the life of the contract. After five seasons with Atlanta and one in St. Louis, the Cubs signed Heyward in December of 2015 to an eight-year, $184MM contract. At the time, the Cubs had just come out of a rebuild, making the postseason for the first time since 2008, still looking to snap their World Series drought that had been ongoing since 1908. One year previously, the club had signed Jon Lester as a way to signal their return to competition and the Heyward deal was one of many in the 2015-2016 season that compounded the club’s serious intentions.
In the first year of the deal, Heyward still provided excellent defense the same way he always had, but his offensive production took a nosedive. He hit .230/.306/.325 for a wRC+ of 72, or production 28% below league average, after having a wRC+ between 109 and 121 over the previous three seasons. His glovework still allowed him to produce 1.0 wins above replacement on the year, per FanGraphs, but it surely wasn’t what the Cubs had in mind when they laid out that massive contract. Nonetheless, the Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years, which surely helped washed down any bitter aftertaste for a while.
Heyward improved slightly in the years to come but still struggled to get back to the form he showed prior to coming to Chicago. From 2017 to 2019, he hit .260/.335/.406 for a 96 wRC+ He seemed to turn a corner in the shortened 2020 campaign, as he hit .265/.392/.456 for a wRC+ of 129, accruing 1.6 fWAR in just 50 games. However, he crashed back down to earth last year, hitting a paltry .214/.280/.347 for a wRC+ of just 68.
Despite those ups and down at the plate, he’s always been a productive player due to his defense. Even with last year’s mediocre output at the plate, he was still worth 0.1 fWAR on the year. Here in 2022, however, things have continued to slide, with Heyward hitting a meager .204/.278/.277 for a wRC+ of just 59, causing him to slip below replacement level for the first time.
Over the span of his contract, the Cubs shut their competitive window and entered another rebuild phase, with Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and other faces of their championship team sent elsewhere. With the roster now largely devoted to younger players, it seems they will devote their playing time to those guys, with Heyward getting nudged out. Hoyer mentioned Nelson Velazquez and Christopher Morel as two such players who could take over some of Heyward’s role, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune.
Heyward’s contract runs through 2023, with his salary set to be $22MM for that campaign. Given his performance in recent years, he will surely go unclaimed whenever he is placed on release waivers. He will then be free to sign with any team, with that club only having to pay the league minimum, with that amount being subtracted from what the Cubs pay.
Although this day has surely seemed inevitable for some time, it’s likely still emotional for many Cub fans. While there are segments of the fanbase that have grown impatient and been outwardly calling for this for some time, Heyward was still an integral part of one of the most important eras of Cubs’ baseball history, if not the most important. While he may have fallen short of some of the loftiest expectations, he was still a productive part of a team that broke a century-old title drought, making the playoffs in four out of his first five years with the club. Though Heyward could still land with another team next season, he will likely be forever associated with his time as part a legendary run of Cubs baseball.
IT’S HAPPENING!!
OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! THIS IS THE HAPPIEST CUBS FANS HAVE BEEN SINCE 2016!!!!!
I guess I’m just confused that if they already know they’re releasing him, why not do it now? Rather than keep him from playing at all, with an alleged “injury”. Wouldn’t Cubs save a few bucks this year too? Although would acquiring team take on his ‘23 contract obligation then?
They would still pay him his full salary for this year and next year. If another team signs him after he’s released, the new team will only pay him league minimum and that amount would be subtracted from what the Cubs owe him.
I can’t speak on the injury, because I’m not familiar with the situation or whether it’s real or not, but the last I heard was that he was having knee issues.
If that’s the case, they might as well keep him for the rest of the year as veteran leadership since he won’t be taking up a roster spot. Releasing him wouldn’t save them anything.
I’m not sure if they would be able to release him now if he’s injured? He’d have to pass through waivers, which he almost assuredly would. He’ll get another job, just not at that salary.
The Cubs would be on the hook for the contract.
Here is what I don’t know: If he goes unclaimed, who then pays for the medical care for him? That’s where I could see there being an issue.
I’m assuming it’s mutually beneficial. He gets access to the Cubs medical staff and facilities, and they likely have the contract insured and need him on the IL to collect on the policy.
He stole 180 million , he can afford to pay for it.
He didn’t steal anything. He never forced the Cubs to sign him. He was a very good player. Age and injury have taken its toll. Happens to every one.
He was NEVER a “very good player”……not in the major leagues. He had a couple of good (not “very good”) years. Numbers don’t lie.
Well realistically, this is what happens when you look at a guy and see POTENTIAL instead of PRODUCTION. Theo saw a big powerful guy and thought gee, If we put him in Wrigley he’ll dominate. Other than providing some of the best RF defense in the majors, That contract has been a disaster since the ink dried. Cutting him now or later, makes no difference whatsoever. The Cubs are still on the hook for the entire amount, Minus insurance and the league minimum someone would offer him next year. Look he’s a great guy and all but it’s time to let kids play who actually can play, Heyward can’t anymore. I wish him the best but this is actually overdue.
He was an excellent player prior to the Cubs signing him, clearly you have no idea what you are talking about. 6.4, 5.5, 3.6, 5.5 are excellent WAR’s.
I’m a Braves fan, dude. I was watching the game when he homered in his first big league at-bat. He was pretty good for a while, but overall he SUCKS.
Cool story “Braves fan”, doesn’t change the fact that prior to heyward signing in Chicago he was an excellent player.
You said “numbers don’t lie” so look at his war numbers, they were excellent. It’s no his fault your only evaluation of what makes a player is good is how many home runs and rbis he drives in.
You don’t pay a guy who’s just a good defense/Base runner 28 million bucks a year unless you’re an idiot. You’re paying 28 million bucks a year for his bat.
WAR is a HORRIBLE stat when defense plays that big a part in it. The minors are full of guys who can play defense and can’t hit…ie guys like Heyward. I watched his weak ass infield grounders for years. He sucks.
He played at a high enough level to get multiple MLB teams to bid for his services, That’s good enough for me.
so the best is if he signs with the Braves for league min…
and ABSOLUTELY KILLS IT next year .
He’s not killing anything. Badly washed up. It’s painful to watch him in the batters box. At the rear of it. Very much afraid.
He was never the same after that ball shattered his jaw in NY.
Sarcasm I see.
Might as well resign Andruw Jones and hope for a .350 avg 850 ops season.
Goku, don’t make me get Bulma. Knock it off with the terrible ideas. No, just no. He will not make it back in a Braves uniform.
Bulma? Goku is only scared of his wife Chichi.
Damn, confused with Vegeta again. I only had 5 radits. This is the abridged season. A literal gallon. Out of a milk jug. I don’t know where he gets it.
How about waste of contract money…minimal as it is in the MLB world. To all the upper 20’s to 30 something virtual rookies the Cubs used August 1st 2021 thru October 2022…WTF? Really? Frank the Tank? Haha, guy named Wisdom with none in the strike zone? Happ, is the guy they hung onto out of their firesale…a year younger or so… but without the talent. Hendricks it turns out isn’t Greg Maddux, a 40 year old David Robertson now closing for a pretender with a return… more of a return than Hayward will net them. Why didn’t they ship him out b4 the trade line this past July, maybe got a last round pick at least? Stupid is as stupid does. Welcome back to AA/AAA baseball disguised as MLB….of course Willy excluded from the odor. A true player is Contreras.
Just release this guy now he sucks
Obviously he didnt otherwise he wouldnt of made Millions in his Career unlike the guy who claims he sucks!
he’s not gunna clap your cheeks bro
Eew, leave the “clap your cheeks'” out for a different post. I had hopes for Heyward with the Cards, just didn’t gel with the Cubs. Yet another bad long term contract gone to seed, When will they ever learn? And then we have to hear their bitching & complaining for the next 5 to 10 years, i.e. Hosmer/Meyers. Owners, own up & shut up…
I am glad he left the Cardinals, because he believe the Cubs are building a team of the future. Look at all the young guys the Cardinals have and look who the Cubs traded away in the last year. Now without Conteras and Heyward, and they might trade Happ away, the Cubs are rebuilding while the Cardinals have the team of the future.
@Cuddy- Sure but Heyward won a ring with the Cubs while the Cards didn’t win one in that timeframe. I think he’d choose ring over no ring.
Lol. The cards are old and have won nothing. They are in first because they play in the Central.
He left the Cardinals because he say the Cubs have a core that will stay a long time together. He did not realize that those old guys, Wainwright and Molina was there when Heyward was traded to the Cardinals and still there when Heyward had his last abat with the Cubs. Also, with the Cardinals traded for Arenado and Goldschmidt and have a young nucleus of players coming up fast, Then Heyward was not that smart.
@Cuddy- Disagree. He wanted to win a World Series. The Cubs did, the Cardinals did not; therefore, he made the right choice.
No, he really does suck
Hey25, I agree with you 100 percent, people on here saying a player sucks, etc. I don’t get it, he made it to the show, had several good years and one great one.
And now you can say goodbye to $22 million, worth it for one great year?
It’s comparatively speaking. Why do people just enjoy twisting crap. I can suck at being an insurance agent but obviously I’m better than the people that never got their license.
Hey ward was an awful investment by the Cubs plain and simple.
But the speech. The speech!
People don’t get that the Cubs paid $5 a year for Heyward’s performance as a player. The rest of the salary was for his motivational speaking.
It’s not worth a 200 million deal
Oh no! Sounds like just the kind of player (superstar) Zaidi would jump at the chance to sign. Zaidi would tell everyone he has made a splash signing.
The win in 2016 was well worth all that money!
They would have won without wasting it on him.
Don’t know but the Cubs won it all and that contract was worth breaking the drought.
He has definitely suckingly underperformed his contract. Hence, “he sucks” is relevant. I rest my case, your honor…..
he definitely sucked. his defense was god tier, but his offense was horrendous and he should NEVER had gotten that contract.
I’d bet the young guys in the clubhouse find him useful. Let him coach for a few weeks as that’s the only value the Cubs will get.
Agreed. I would rather have a guy like Heyward as a role.model for young players than Javier Baez, whose OOS+ is 82 this year.
Then they can hire him as a coach.
My guess is that was discussed with him.in detail. But they still owe him the $22 mill remaining on husncontract.
Yes, I agree that he was paid way more than he should have and should have not been given that contract, but Epstein should be blamed for presenting that deal to Heyward. And there are 2 things about Jason:
1) I don’t care what you say, but we would have never won the 2016 World Series without Heyward.
2) With all the flack he took thru his Cubs career, he was the utmost professional and never complained.
He just seemed to be one of those player that hit his peak early in his career and deteriorated quickly.
They would have definitely won without him. Don’t blame Epstein blame Heyward he took less to play for the cubs than the cards offered. A horrible contract for the cubs that they somehow managed to survive.
Revolver, you proved my point, Epstein should have never given him that big of a contract.
And yes we would have never won the Series without Heyward. He was the one that picked up the pieces and reset the team’s minds during the rain delay in game 7 seven after Chapman imploded and blew the lead.
And deny Cubs fans his farewell tour?
He is no longer a major league player, but he’s a good guy by all accounts. Why be mean?
It’s not hurting the team to wait to release him. They’ll need to pay out the contract anyway.
This is kinda like the MLB version of peaking in High School.
As always, we await developments.
More to come!!!
And peaking early made him a lot of money. I doubt he had much control over when he peaked but rather peak early than later in this circumstance
A little harsh to say that to about an active player, even if they won’t play again during this contract
why? At least he was given ample time to prepare for his future, and any other clubs willing to take a shot on him also are in the know. not like the guy doesn’t know how horrendous he is at the plate. should have seen it coming.
hope the Mets sign his bobby bonnilla ass
This is my opinion: I believe the 22-23 offseason will be the winter that teams try to move bad contracts. Hicks, Bumgarner, Ozuna, and Castellanos were shopped at the deadline. Hosmer was moved. Corbin was discussed as a trade candidate.
The only successful way WAS trades Corbin is by eating half the contract
The San Diego method may also work. Eat the whole contract AND kick in some prospects.
Half? Funniest thing i heard today! They got pay all of it and throw in season tickets to the wizards and caps.
Ozuna was shopped?
Yes I believe it was Craig Mish who covers the Marlins that mentioned the Marlins were close to acquiring him.
Yes, believe Mish reported that the Braves and Marlins discussed an Ozuna for Avisail Garcia swap.
NashvilleJeff, so glad that didn’t happen. Don’t need him trying to sleep with another players wife. That guy is bad news in a locker room.
If the Angels were smart we’d pull a Dodgers and take on a one or two in order to add prospects and near MLB ready players.
I’ll pass on Ozuna, though. No place for that dude here.
Only to replace them with new bad ones.
Bumgarner’s remaining contract is actually a fair deal for how he’s pitched this year. Add in his legendary postseason experience and there’s sure to be buyers.
One of the worst contracts in sports history along with Chris steroids Davis
At least Heyward is a good person. That’s one of the reasons they’re keeping him around even though he’s on the injured list for the rest of the year. He’s a good clubhouse present. but they’re no longer willing to give him an act of roster spot and I don’t blame them. But it shows a little bit about what kind of a human being he is when they want him around as long as possible even though he’s not able to play anymore this year.
advplee – Right, he’s a great guy. Shows the younger players that if you can lock into a good contract, you can sit on your ass for the rest of your career and don’t have to earn that money. I’d cut ties now and then make him pay to get in the ballpark if he wants to continue to be a spectator. Just can’t have those field level seats anymore. This guy is pure, 100% shameful embarrassment.
JerryBird- You don’t know the first thing about how difficult it is to be a successful baseball player, even for talented and motivated individuals. I highly doubt he would be so well respected if he was just sitting on his ass and not putting in work.
@jerrybird – “you can sit on your ass for the rest of your career”. Any evidence of this??
Heyward literally reworked his entire swing, a process that takes months on the shorter end, during the 2017 off-season. He signed a massive contract that he didn’t live up to, but he hardly just “sat on his ass”.
He’s also uncoachable.
Angels21 – His lack of production after the contract is a strong indicator of his weakened desire. If Heyward produced numbers for the Cubs like he did for Atlanta and St. Louis, we wouldn’t be here and he would be playing on a daily basis for Chicago. Funny how so many successful players become less productive when their pockets get heavy with money.
You and I are just “armchair” managers. If either one of us had the knowledge we pretend to have, we would be more involved than just sitting on our asses BSing our way through life.
disadvantage – I look at his numbers for my evidence, It is as plain as the nose on your face. It should not take months for a professional baseball player to rework his swing. Heyward has been at it for a couple of years. How long should it take? This guy sucks. I would prefer he not be in the clubhouse. He may be a nice guy, but he is a bad example of free agency. Take the money and run.
At least we do agree that he has not lived up to the CON-tract.
Listen, I’m glad the Cubs are releasing him. It’s long overdue, but one thing that cannot be reasonably said about Jason Heyward is that he ever “sat on his ass.” The guy went to Arizona months before spring training to work on and try to fix his swing.
The Davis contact is probably the only other contact worse than hayword deal
There are some others that were also worse like Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, Josh Hamilton, David Wright, Mike Hampton, etc. Likely Stephen Strasburg, as well. At least Heyward had a few decent years at the beginning and still played good defense for most of his contract.
Maybe Chris Sale and his collection of broken bones.
Why is he with the Cubs in 2022?
So the cubs can draft higher
Harder to eat 40+ than 20+
Lol but the sabermetric stats show he is great. That dude was awful as a cub
That’s objectively false – the advanced metrics haven’t liked him since 2015.
Heyward was the poster child for the early metrics’ obsession with outfield defense. This was before they figured out that their subjective methods had several huge biases, including selection bias (guys with good reputations got the benefit of the doubt) and eye bias (outfielders in small outfields look like they’re covering more ground than those in big outfields). Heyward wasn’t the only corner OF who got gaudy WAR numbers by virtue of average hitting and out-of-this-world defensive stats (say hi to Adam Eaton). The newer metrics based on distance actually travelled basically put an end to it, although they too have huge issues, among them the effect of positioning on defensive metrics.
You’re showing your lack of knowledge of metrics. “Outfielders in small outfields look like…”. Metrics don’t use the eye test, metrics use actual measurements and calculations, that’s the point. Yet another critic of metrics who can’t take the time to actually understand how they work on the most basic level. There are problems related to metrics and overvaluations of defense in calculating WAR, but you didn’t really hit on them.
Plus, WAR overrates defense compared to offense (other than the battery) in the first place.
Can anyone explain something I view as a disconnect on WAR and OPS+? Heyward has a career OPS+ of 101 (league average hitter), but he accumulated 34 WAR as a hitter in his career. It doesn’t make sense to me that you can be average, yet still be valuable enough for 34 wins better than average. It would seem his batting WAR should be around 0 for his career to match the OPS+ What am I missing?
First, WAR measures wins above a replacement player (think AAA/waiver wire guy), while OPS+ is a metric relative to the average MLB player. A team composed entirely of players performing at the replacement level would post a .294 winning percentage, but a team composed entirely of average players would post a .500 winning percentage. As such, you are “above replacement” if you hit at a league average level, and since WAR is a cumulative stat, the fact that Heyward has played for 13 years is especially relevant.
Note that 34 WAR isn’t that big of a number over 13 years, as it equates to just 2.6 WAR per year, which is similar to that which Jonathan Villar, Adam Duvall, Omar Navarez, and Eduardo Escobar put up in 2021, and players like Anthony Rizzo, Josh Rojas, and Tesocar Hernandez will likely get to this year. Solid, but not great.
Secondly, WAR also includes defense, and Heyward has won 5 gold gloves in his career, while also being worth 151 defensive runs saved in his career and 45 OAA since 2015. According to baseball-reference, after positional adjustments, his defense has been worth exactly 11 wins above replacement, which boosts his WAR considerably.
Living proof they still haven’t sorted out the outfield defensive metrics. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great RF. But they put entirely too much value in corner OF defense
WAR puts too much value in ALL defense outside of catcher.
This is sad. He had such a promising start to his career! I’m afraid he fell to the issue that was forced upon him for being a top prospect.
There was so much potential that was wasted because of this. Dear Mr AA! Please let him retire a Brave
He was never the same after hurting his shoulder. That’s not to say that I believe it’s been hurting him all these years; but perhaps it led to bad mechanics or a hitch in his swing that he could never overcome. I will tell you this: there is no way that long-term, fully guaranteed contracts have helped the sport of baseball. Sure, it helps the players. But before that, players had to play for their next contract or they had to get a real job.. There just isn’t motivation when you’ve made generational wealth before you’re 30.. Now, get offa my lawn you kids!!
I agree, the MLB pay and FA system are outdated. They need to rework it so that these young stars are better paid when they are good, teams are wising up and not handing out these massive contracts for players who have already played their best baseball. The best players should be making the most money and teams shouldnt be paying guys like Heyward and Corbin $25-30M per season when they aren’t worth a roster spot.
Fix it MLB, it makes the game look bad!!
Robert;
Good point……
Tell the older guys that they’re getting pay cuts.
Sorry, but it’s a necessary evil to maintain competitive balance so that the smaller markets can keep their young homegrown stars for a decent length of time.
Beyond that, most free agents deals work out pretty well during at least the first half of the contract. Teams just have to be wary about paying guys top dollar after age 36 or so, and most of them are a lot better at doing that than they used to be.
If a guy is ranked 1 out of every minor leaguer than he should be an all star 5x over to say he atleaet met expectations.
Dude had a horrible career. All he ever accomplished was getting a ton of money from cubs.
He has had enough money from the Braves. Enough with these pity contracts. Let him go out a Brave, No thank you. We already have players in the minors who aren’t mediocre. Absolutely no reason for Alex to give him a contract. He isn’t depth, he won’t turn it around.
The absolute worst part of it. He publicly supported Atlanta losing the All Star Game. And you want him back? You aren’t serious are you?
The cubbies already packed his locker up sat his stuff on the curb, revoked his player pass & told him don’t ever call us again…Ever! Ahahaha!
You obviously didn’t read the article. They’re keeping him around until the end of the year because they love his clubhouse presence. He’s good for a morale. Just because he’s not going to play for the Cubs again doesn’t mean that they’re sitting his stuff out on the curb. I wouldn’t be surprised if one day in the future he turns up as a coach for the Cubs.
I wouldn’t be surprised if one day in the future -as opposed to the past -YOU turn up as a coach for the Cubs. Ahahaha!
Does repeating “ahahaha” mean you’re having a stroke?
It must be with great pain and agony for Cubs fans to be told that another member of the 2016 World Championship team will be gone. Sorry Cubs fans.
That team never won a “World Championship” unless you’re talking about “Murica, F@&K Yeah!”
It might as well be the “World Championship,” since MLB has the world’s best players. Remind me where exactly the best players from the Japanese, Korean, and Cuban leagues eventually immigrate to play? Where exactly do the best Latin American prospects sign to play?
Long live Kyle Hendricks!
This one’s a relief
Man, Ronald Acuna….. I mean Heyward really did not work out as much as media, fans, and experts expected him too. He reminds me of someone.. can’t pinpoint who.
Ronald is still working his way back from the injury. He hasn’t been 100% all year. I suspect that next year if he gets a full spring training he’ll be fine.
Of course. A superstar forgot how to hit after a knee injury. Might be pitchers learned how to pitch to him given his free swinging tendencies. Hmm
Are you high? Acuña has a 10% BB rate
Dear Met troll @Strider’sLegDay, ATL has so much new talent it’s soiling your diaper, Doesn’t it kill you, you have no new talent like the Braves? Don’t worry, you can still buy your pennant just like your crosstown Rockefellers! But sooner or later, the bucks dry out
Curly, you’ve got Strider’sLegDay wrong. He’s a Braves fan, albeit an odd one. Tough to keep up w/all of his screen names, but his disdain for Acuna gives him away. He’s the guy who used to post under the NoMadBumNoNLCS and other equally nonsensical pseudonyms. Think his most recent screen name was ResignSwanson. He changes names frequently, but the rants remain the same.
Thanks @NashvilleJeff, this site is becoming baffling to me. I get censored on a regular basis & I don’t know why. After years on this site, it might be time to “turn out the lights, the party’s over”. I miss a lot of the older posters, but I guess they quit for good reasons.
Arizona is still waiting on that NLCS they were promised when they signed Bumgarner.
Acuna missed a year. He’s not in MVP form, I’ll grant you. Could that be because he missed a year though, ya think?
It isn’t as if he’s having a bad season, though. He’s been solid.
Yeah of course that is it. Maybe it is also his lower back or maybe he also chipped his toenail and he threw a tantrum like he always does after getting hurt. There is most likely something that is bothering him, hence he suddenly can’t hit anymore. Olson will also hit .300 once he gets better acquainted in Atlanta. He is better than Freeman after all.
He can’t help it. He’s looked up at the Braves for 30 years. I would imagine that’s hard on a person’s psyche.
Nice guy, and will always be remembered for his motivational speech in Game 7 but way too much money for very little production. Still wish him the best.
Nice guy, and he will always be remembered for his motivational speech in Game 7 but way too much money for very little production. Class act and I still wish him the best.
The $200 million speech.
Worth every dime to lifelong Cubs fans
Even though he did not produce offensively as a Cub he was a Gold Glove RF and helped them win many games but he definitely was not worth 184 mil. Good teammate, good man , wish him the best
You know I would take the outfield of
Heyward
JBJ
Gallo
At least defensively.
LMAO. Take them all the way to 100 losses!
Is Billy Hamilton available to be the 4th outfielder?
Thank you, sweet baby jeebus.
Went to HS with Heyward. Wish him all the best. Sure, maybe he hasn’t lived up to the hype or $$$ but he has more talent than everyone hating on him in the comments combined.
Thank you! I posted something similar below…I promised myself I wouldn’t read all the nastiness, but I did…ugh…but I am stopping with your post. I want to leave it on a positive note!
Indeed, he is much more proficient at grounding out weakly to second base then I will ever be.
I suppose that’s true, as one has to be able to make contact with major-league pitching in order to ground out.
Really? More talent than people posting here? You don’t say! BTW, that’s totally irrelevant. He sucks and his attitude sucks. He’d never listen to coaching, and when he got paid, he sure wouldn’t listen. He’s the poster child of bad contracts.
That’s just like, your opinion man. J-Hey’s a good dude. His attitude doesn’t suck, never has. Anyone who’s ever played the game at a high level doesn’t take low blows against someone far superior to them. Maybe I just have too much respect for the game, need to act more like a scumbag. Teach me Kevin.
How do you know he would never listen to coaching? It’s one thing to listen. It’s a completely different thing to be able to execute.
Heyward is a study in how something new comes out and a market goes berserk over it. In this case, WAR and defensive metrics.
At the time of Heyward’s deal, defensive metrics were the brand new things. The Cubs over valued them to their detriment.
World series title.
Naw. Cubs have stupid money and spend it stupidly. They likely committed a 100 million more than the next bidder just to sign him away from cards. Joke is that cards weren’t even gonna offer him anyway
Cards offered more. He chose the cubs.
Maybe get your facts straight first. Can you point us to the article that states the Cards weren’t going to offer him anyway?
“…and there was much rejoicing.”
(yaaaaaaay)
Send him and a little cash to the Reds for Mike Moustakas, their remaining contract is essentially equal. Come May or June of 2023 both teams can release them.
Skipping all the nasty posts about the contract, his ability over the last six years, etc. to say that Jason Heyward was a key part of the team that won it all in 2016, and deserves that respect. We are all aware of the speech and his leadership. His defense contributed as well. I know it is too much to ask for everyone to be classy on this board, so I will go ahead and do it: thanks for your time as a Cub, Jason. You had a darn good career, the kind many of us could only dream about.
Forgot he was a thing
Sure the reason he is not released right now is the cubs are getting injury insurance money for him most big contracts come with some type of insurance so 60-70 games missed will put some money back into the cubs
That’s not going to make things awkward for the remainder of the season.
Been downhill since that homer off Zambrano
His five tools were sitting on the couch, not showing up for work, collecting an unearned paycheck, being lazy, and making excuses.
The only part he struggled with was hitting. How does that equate to 5 tools?
Y’all realize when someone says a player stinks or sucks, they aren’t saying they are better than that player. They are comparing that player to other players that have made the pros and also the value he provided based on contract being paid. He was successful from a business standpoint, but he was a god awful cubs player. And cubs def would have won the World Series without him as they would have had a more productive right fielder most likely. He was always overrated and usually overpaid. Good riddance Heyward you suck as a player lol no more weak grounders to second base every at bat
In da spirit of Ron Santo I shall jump up and click my heels…
Heyward sucks. He’s always sucked. Guy makes $184 million doing less than a minimum salary player does. Dumb move by the Cubs signing him. How baseball “experts” can do something THAT DUMB is beyond me. Any fan who had followed Heyward could have told them it was a huge mistake before they did it. Unbelievable
I remember everyone speculating what kind of contract he would get after being the with Cards. I thought for sure all the experts were going to be way off because in my mind there was no way he would end up being worth what was being floated around. Then he signed for even more!
Hopefully he can turn things around in 2023. He’s a good guy, definitely more in the tank and should be a low risk pick up for someone. I could see him going to the rockies, maybe reds.
You know he’s done. No roster in baseball worse than cubs. U can’t make that one – you ain’t gonna make one
I hope for one of two outcomes:
A) He signs a minor league deal with the Braves and at some point gets to play in front of the hometown crowd with the hometown team.
B) He signs a minor league deal with the Yankees, finds Carpenter’s discarded mustache in a locker, puts it on and hits like Ken Griffey Jr. for one final inexplicable summer.
Best of luck Jason Heyward. I will never forget Spring Training 2010 when you burst on the scene with massive homers that still haven’t landed and ridiculous missile-like throws from RF. I hope you enjoyed the ride.
Was a bad contract then and remains so today.
Highest paid motivational speaker ever…and worth every penny because of how his motivational speaking was the only reason the Cubs won the World Series.
Should have never gotten that ridiculous contract. Any GM worth their salt would have traded him for a bag of balls four years ago. Typical mediocre signing by “the genius”.
How is Rick Hahn doing these days?
Theo should never be allowed to sign another outfielder ever again after Heyward and Crawford.
But but but Theo is a super genius new style of GM because of his championships in the big markets of Boston and Chicago. What other GM can put together championships with huge payrolls? Theo is the Phil Jackson of MLB. Boston and Chicago would have never won with those payrolls without Theo the same way the Bulls and Lakers wouldn’t have ever won those championships with MJ, Scottie, Dennis, Shaq, Kobe, Rice, etc. if Phil wasn’t there. Theo did for the Red Sox and Cubs what Barry Switzer did for the Cowboys.
Theo is the greatest talent evaluator of all time, but his big contract signings have mostly not panned out. The cubs world series was won mainly with home grown players. Love or hate him, the guy changed the game in many ways. But he’s been on the wrong side of dumb luck on the contracts he’s handed out so far. Make no mistake about it though – All 30 teams would gladly hire the guy without hesitation.
I’d love to see how much of a talent evaluator he would be if he went to the Pirates or Royals and actually had to go build a team from a rebuild position.
Did you miss the part where he did that already with the cubs before he signed anyone…..
Alex Anthopolous says hi.
…..”if he had to build a team from a rebuild position”…….Baseball Reference has excellent information and history of the Cubs from say about 1909 to 2009 if you are looking for a rebuild project.
Yeah, you can just skip comments that begin “But but but”.
180M for outfield defense and clubhouse leadership. Essentially could have signed Kevin Kiermaier for a third of the price. He had the frame and projection to think he’d be a star but goes to show a major problem when you give a hitter a contract when his best skill is not hitting.
Miguel Rojas makes about $5 million for the same at SS.
It’s Heyward’s birthday tomorrow… happy birthday.
$184 million dollars for two semi-decent offensive seasons. Heyward is to the Cubs what Jack Clark was to the Red Sox
doesn’t quite work, since at least clark could get on base a ton.
unless you wanna say clark’s on base is like heyward’s glove (good, but nowhere near what you’re paying for it and hurt all the time).
in that case, sure, i’ll give you that one.
A more expensive Aaron Hicks without the injuries. At least he got a WS ring though.
Guys…. he is 32, unencumbered and at league minimum…Playoff-type teams WILL line-up for league minimum…….
Not sure what kind of clubhouse guy he is…? But he has CLEAR value next season….
Negativity at a weird high since the trade deadline…..
He is the type of guy that wants superstar money without acting like a superstar. He left STL because he wants to blend in instead of being a leader.
By your definition a leader must not be someone who motivates a team to a Game 7 win of a World Series.
Stop handing out 8year+ contracts!!!! The majority of the current deals over 8 years will be highly regrettable if they aren’t already
It’s never the money—they all have it. It’s always the years that get you.
HAHAHAH just like Chet Steadman. “”Youre going to sit out the rest of the season…on the bench…and then were releasing you””
Let’s put a team in Montreal and give them an entire team of reclamation projects:
C: Roberto Perez
1B: Bobby Bradley
2B: Robinson Cano
SS: Didi Gregorious
3B: Miguel Andujar
LF: Justin Upton
CF: Obdubel Hererra
RF: Jason Heyward
DH: Carlos Santana
8 years from now, in the year 2030, the following players will have albatross contracts:
1. 39 yr old Mike Trout $35 mil AAV
2. 39 yr old Mookie Betts $30mil AAV
3. 37 yr old Francisco Lindor $34mil AAV
4. 37 yr old Bryce Harper $25mil AAV
5. 37 yr old Corey Seager $32mil AAV
I don’t think GMs actually care to realize how long 8 years is when they offer these contracts.
Nice! You are likely right on at least a majority of the. We will see when I am 74 or 75!
A lineup of has-beens and never-were’s is the reason Expos fans stopped going in the first place. That’s practically going scorched earth on Baseball in Montreal
Remember when he was a can’t miss prospect that was the future of baseball
And with that I still can’t believe this boy is still only 32 years old!!!!
Why bother do it NOW! he stinks…
Congrats to Jason Hayward for robbery of the Chicago Cubs 8 years: 184 Million. Well done sir. I’m a Brewer fan and I must say u done well for taking the Most over rated franchise in sports history and having them blow all that money in you. You in turn turned in to be the most over rated player in sported history!! Well played. Well played
At least it’s over for Cubs fans. Try to enjoy Christian Yelich at $26 million per year for the next six years.
At least the cubs didn’t trade their best bullpen arm sitting in 1st place, yikes.
Very early peak. Not sure what happened.
The Cubs never win the World Series without his “speech”.
The Cubs never win the World Series if Bryan Shaw didn’t suck.
Oakland bound?
Jason Heyward is 1 of the nicest and classiest guys to play for the Cubs ever. My feeling is that Heyward needed a bigger park to have success hitting as he did in St. Louis where he had a very good year. After Heyward’s 1st very good year in Atlanta’s old Fulton County Stadium, Heyward struggled in the smaller Fulton Stadium until he went to the bigger Busch Stadium and hit with success. Signing with the Cubs where Heyward struggled in the smaller Park is a mistake on both Theo Epstein and Heyward part.
Huh? Fulton County Stadium’s last year was 1996. Heyward only played for the Braves in Turner Field.
Not since Winston Churchill delivered the “Never Surrender” speech in June of 1940 has an orator received the acclaim that Jason Heyward has for the rain delay speech..
I wonder if it went something like this….
” We shall fight on the Basepaths, we shall fight off inside pitches, we shall never foul out,,,”
Happy birthday, Jason. It feels like you are closer to 39 than 33. I hope you have a Matt Carpenter resurgence in 2023.
This comment didn’t age well.
As a Cardinals fan………*wipes forehead*
Thanks Jason for thinking what you thought when you thought it.
The Cubs can’t wait to give Kevin Kiermaier a billion dollars for a hundred years.
Where is the posting for the Angels claiming Steven Duggar?
Please Atlanta, “DON’T EVEN THINK IT!!!
Most players don’t peak at age 22. Apparently, some do.
Heyward is the poster child for why teams look at OPS and SLG when projecting players.
Keeping him through this season to get 1 more post-season’s worth of veteran leadership, obviously.
Kinda like a Rolls Royce Hood Ornament on a Ford Pinto
Just once I’d like to see a thread on MLBTR that isn’t full of petty arguments.
A very fair, and well written article! Mentions the good, the bad , and the ugly. Quit blaming the player, He only signed what was put in front of him. I never saw him dog or not try!
Except the time he blew off an entire game, because of feelwings. Some guy he’s never met, doesn’t know, gets shot & killed by the police far away from him for not doing what the cop told him to after multiple chances, JHey needed time to go cry in his Scrooge McDuck vault about his oppressed “his people” are.
Except the time he blew off an entire game, because of feelwings. Some guy he’s never met, doesn’t know, gets shot & killed by the police far away from him for not doing what the cop told him to after multiple chances, JHey needed time to go cry in his Scrooge McDuck vault about how oppressed “his people” are.