The Cubs announced Monday that outfielder Jason Heyward has officially been granted his unconditional release. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer announced in August that the team would release Heyward in the offseason. Heyward is still owed $22MM next year under the terms of his eight-year, $184MM contract, which covered the 2016-23 seasons.
After a lengthy rebuild where the Cubs finished last in the NL Central for five straight years from 2010 to 2014, they finally turned the corner in 2015. Their 97 victories only resulted in a third place finish in the NL Central and a Wild Card berth, though they were able to defeat the two teams that finished ahead of them in the postseason, getting by the Pirates in the WC game and then the Cardinals in the NLDS. They were then swept by the Mets in the NLCS but it was clear that the rebuild was over and it was time to contend.
As such, the 2015-16 offseason was a busy one for the club. They gave $56MM to Ben Zobrist, $32MM to John Lackey and a few one-year deals, but their big strike was Heyward. He and the club agreed to an eight-year, $184MM deal that afforded him potential opt-outs after 2018 and 2019. Those chances to opt out were especially significant given Heyward’s young age, as he was only going into his age-26 season at the time. It was a huge investment for the Cubs at a crucial time in the history of the franchise, but Heyward had proven himself to be an all-around contributor. His defense was excellent and he had hit at an above-average level, in addition to stealing over 20 bases three time in his career already.
Unfortunately, Heyward’s production slumped immediately. After hitting .293/.359/.439 with the Cardinals in 2015, he produced a batting line of .230/.306/.325 in 2016. While the former line amounted to a wRC+ of 121, or 21% above league average, his first year as a Cub resulted in a wRC+ of just 72, or 28% below league average. In spite of the down year from Heyward, the Cubs went 103-58, winning the Central by 17 1/2 games over the Cardinals. Heyward’s bat was even worse in the playoffs, as he hit just .104/.140/.167. Regardless, the Cubs went on to break their century-old curse by winning the World Series. Despite Heyward’s poor on-field results, he supposedly contributed by rousing the club’s spirits with a rain delay speech in Game 7 against Cleveland, though Cub fans can debate among themselves how much credit he deserves for that.
Heyward continued to provide quality outfield defense for years to come but his bat never really properly recovered. Since joining the Cubs, the only season in which he was above-average at the plate, according to wRC+, was the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Based on that diminished performance, he never seemed a threat to trigger his opt-outs and thus stayed on with the Cubs. Over the length of the deal, the team eventually entered another rebuilding period and traded away most of their core performers from the curse-breaking years. After the brief 2020 resurgence, Heyward’s offense plummeted yet again over 2021 and 2022. With the club gradually filling out the roster with younger players that they hope to form the next competitive core, they decided it was time to move on. Heyward was on the IL due to a knee injury in August when Hoyer announced that he would be released in the offseason, which has now indeed come to pass.
Heyward will now become a free agent again, available to sign with any team in the league. Despite his poor track record in recent seasons, he could attract interest as a no-risk candidate. The Cubs will be on the hook for the $22MM remaining on his deal, meaning that any signing club would only have to pay him the league minimum, with that amount being subtracted from what the Cubs pay. Despite his extended time a big leaguer, he’s still just 33 years old.
The legacy of Heyward’s time with the Cubs is already divisive among the club’s fans and will surely continue to do so. There’s no disputing the fact that Heyward was never the superstar that the Cubs paid him to be. Some will wonder about what could have been if those resources were committed to a different player. Others will take the “Flags Fly Forever” approach and point to the World Series title as all they need to declare the deal a success. Either way, today’s move is another symbolic move towards a new era of Cubs baseball. With various trades over the years, the recent free agency of Willson Contreras and now Heyward’s release, Kyle Hendricks is left as the last member of that championship core who’s still on the roster.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Future Cardinal
Been there, done that. He is an “Aging core,” that the team does not need.
Heyward is easily the worst contract in all of Chicago sports history. No one else in Cubs, White Sox, Bears or Bulls history even comes close. That’s a pretty sad statement considering how deep Chicago sports history is. It’s much worse than saying someone is the worst contract in San Antonio sports history or somewhere like that.
He is one of the worst contracts in baseball history but not THE worst. Chris Davis was possibly worse but he was also $40 million less expensive so it it’s debatable. Would you rather have Heyward or Chris Davis plus another $40 million? It’s arguable the $40 million alone is worth more than Heyward which would make Davis the better contract. That’s how bad Heyward really was.
It’s hard to determine because his contract is nowhere near over yet and technically anything could happen but it’s looking like the worst contract in all of sports history is going to be Steven Strasburg. He looks like he might not even play and his $245 million contract is $60+ million more expensive than Heyward. Would you rather have Strasburg or Heyward + $60 million? I’m taking the $60 million in that situation so I think Strasburg beats Heyward for worst contract in sports history.
After looking over what the Braves so far have benefitted from trading Heyward it’s pretty shocking. The Braves were given 1 great year from Shelby Miller, 3 gold glove seasons including an MLB hits leader season from centerfielder Ender Inciarte and the entire career thus far from #1 overall draft pick Dansby Swanson all in exchange for 1 season of Jason Heyward. All they did was trade the very last year of Heyward’s contract to get all that. Talk about getting the best bang for your buck by trading 1 year of a player who really wasn’t very good.
Brent Seabrook was alraedy a year or two into his obvious decline when he was given an 8-year extension.
The total dollars aren’t similar, but in terms of crippling bad contracts, Seabrook’s was worse. The Cubs were never prevented from acquiring good players (or being forced to get rid of good players) because of Hayward’s deal. The Blackhawks were.
Also, we’re only 14 games into the Zach LaVine max deal. Give that one a little time.
Fair point Brent. I was looking mostly at total dollars but in Hockey they have smaller payrolls. I’m not a hockey aficionado which is why I left the Blackhawks off my list of “Cubs, White Sox, Bears and Bulls.”
I will say this though. I definitely believe the Heyward contract did prevent the Cubs from acquiring good players and forced them to get rid of good players. If the Cubs had not signed Heyward they could have spent that money on a better player or maybe even a slew of cheaper but still better players than Heyward. The Cubs also could have felt more comfortable extending players like Rizzo and Contreras. Any dollar spent on a bad player is a dollar that could have been spent on a good player.
You could be right about the Blackhawks though. I don’t know much about them. My main point was paying a bad player $180 million has to be considered worse than paying another bad player less than $180 million. They have smaller payrolls in hockey but it’s still US dollars.
Alfonso Soriano’s contract was a close second to me. That was super bad the last couple years of the deal.
Yes but Strasburg was due to injury. Heyward just… forgot how to play?
Milton Bradley would like a word.
Is that guy institutionalized yet? If not do we know where he’s at?
Sounds more like a Cashman dumpster pick.
Matt Holliday fixed Carpenter. Why not Heyward?
Cubs 40 man at at 35 with 3 that can go on the 60 Day as soon as the new year starts. Heuer, Roberts and Canario. There’s still plenty of weeding that can be done.
Now it is 34. So, who’s being selected tomorrow? I’ll guess Brennen Davis, Kevin Alcantara, Ben Brown, Ryan Jensen, and Luis Devers.
Hoyer already got rid of a bunch that were eligible like Strumpf and Roededrer, not that they were worth adding anyway. Riley Thompson and Kohl Franklin maybe. Got the list they had and lost the link but that was before Hoyer started chopping. Not sure who’s left. But Rivas, Ortega, Vizcaino can go pretty easily for me. The 6 guys you mentioned are locks to be added but locks to still be here next year? Another story. Wick can go too IMO. They might be able to get something for him, but not much.
Holiday had input and helped Carpenter, but you can only give him a portion of the credit. Truth is way more complex than that.
nypost.com/2022/06/07/matt-carpenters-rebuilt-yank…
Nothing to fix with heyward, just a ton of hype.. BJ Upton anyone???
BJ Upton with a ring
How about Upton’s brother.. with my Angels? Yikes
Vernon Wells…
Yeah but Justin also had some MVP finishes
Upton deals are uniformly bad. No more Upton deals. Unless you’re an Upton girl.
Bj, Justin, Kate. All huge busts.
Matt Holliday fixed Carpenter.
================================
There are some that believe that Doc Holliday fixed Carpenter. Carp had an OPS+ of 82 for the three previous seasons. I’ll acknowledge that a good hitting coach can make guys better.
But they don’t make a failing 36 year old player the best hitter in baseball.
You can’t call Matt Holiday “Doc”. That is a different guy. RIP
Fix? Was Carpenter a dog?
And his name was Halladay anyway.
Heyward has PTSD from getting drilled in the face that Carpenter doesn’t?
Because Holliday is now the Cardinals’ Bench Coach, and the Cardinals aren’t touching Heyward with a 10-foot pole. They already have outfielders like Nootbaar and Yepez who might not be everyday starters next year yet are much better options than Heyward.
Or Brave 😉
If he were right handed, he’d have Bloom and Boston all over him.
I just heard they are anyway. Good luck with that.
No way!!!!
0 % chance of that happening.
Jordan Walker is coming next year.
I remember when John Mozeliak bowed out of the Heyward bidding… at the time it sucked loosing Miller for one year of Heyward but looking back it was a good thing. Heyward contract is why the Cubs never won more than one world series. That contract completely handcuffed the core
Besides, Miller didn’t exactly live up to expectations, either.
Dude had the good fortune to get his money when teams hadn’t quite figured out that corner outfielders (even really, really good ones) don’t contribute as much defensively as people thought. And his glove is mostly what he had.
So is Heyward a bust or not? Thoughts?
Better question is : where does he rank on the worst contract in MLB history? He’s been horrendous
That’s a bridge too far for me, personally. Heyward was overpaid sure but was mostly around the 2.0 WAR range up through 2020 and had all-star level numbers in the shortened season. That’s far from the worst contract ever…even factoring in the down 2021 and bad 2022 numbers.
Easy to say when its not your $185 million spent, clearly a horrible contract.
I mean yeah but worst contract ever? That’s a bit strong
worse contract than Moustakas? #redsfan
Ryan Howard or Chris Davis were both easily worth than Heyward, who was useful during the contract, just not worth the salary.
Nope. He got paid and the Cubbies got a ring because of him. No speech and they go meekly into the night, unloved, unmourned. Maddon the WOAT. Entire narrative flipped due to one savvy vet move. So no. The city of Chicago will always have a table ready for JHey. Milwaukay- where’s your title? Did Eyan Braun eat it?
Yep, and Yelich is eating the next one.
There are many contracts that are much worse. Pujols and now Strasburg come to mind.
Yeah that’s gonna be a bad one
Howard and Davis are rarely mentioned because they signed extensions vs contracts with new teams.
Price Fielder would rank up there also had the Tigers not wisely dumped him onto the Rangers.
There are several contracts worse than Heyward’s, off the top of my head Ellsbury and Crawford.
Pujols’s contract was still better than Heyward’s, relatively speaking. The Angels at least got much more value out of the first half of Pujols’s contract than the Cubs have gotten out of the entirety of Heyward’s contract.
Stephen Strasburg said he doesn’t think he will be able to pitch competitively ever again. Whether that means he will retire, i don’t know. If he retires, that would help out the Nationals a great deal.
Not necessarily. If it’s a medically-induced retirement like Prince Fielder, then the rest of the contract is still valid.
Oops. That won’t be good.
I don’t consider a team being dumb enough to pay that contract as Heyward being a bust. I remember when he was coming up with the Braves he was supposed to be the next Griffey. I think he just was way over hyped.
His swing just changed too much. He was all power and patience but never consistently.
I think what hurt him is he never spent a full season at AAA. I think he actually spent very little time there.
Milwaukee- Pales in contrast to Stanton’s, But it was a horrible deal. Chris Davis is above Heyward also.
I agree with Heyward contract not being as bad as Chris Davis contract and Stanton’s; I’d also say these contracts were also worse than Heyward’s: Carl Crawford, Miguel Cabrera., and Chris Sale.
Also higher than Heyward’s: Robinson Cano, Eric Hosmer and David Price
No chance Mikey
If you ain’t hit that ring you ain’t got a thing
Chris Davis has #1 locked up.
He is a bust because of the contract they gave him. If it was a 12 million dollar deal it would have been fine.
The braves would have likely gave him one of those 8-12 million a year contract, kind of what they are doing now with all the core players they are signing
Once you go beyond 12 what’s the difference? Not your money and the Cubs charge the 2nd highest ticket prices to a nondiscrimjnating consumer and parlayed the title into Potteraville and the Marquee network. The net South of the club has skyrocketed. Ricketts can now penny pinch now by citing biblical losses during the pandemic and he’s waaay waaay ahead. The 20+ mill this ye is just a rounding error, loose change in the couch.
Classic instigating 101 right here.
Definitely a bust
I’m torn for a couple different reasons. Obviously his on-field performance never lived up to the free agent deal he signed, and he was a huge bust in terms of production vs. contract. Also, his bloated contract arguably hindered the Cubs from extending their own players or spending on other free agents.
However, would you go back in time and not sign him to the deal, if there was no guarantee the Cubs would win the WS in 2016? He seemed like a good dude and good teammate, and had an impact off the field as well. It’s not my money, but I feel fairly confident ownership and the front office would keep the trophy.
Let’s not think that Heyward somehow played a huge contributing role in that World Series. He didn’t carry that team. He made one motivating speech. If he wasn’t on the team they probably would have had two other players in his place that were better and would’ve helped that team more than Heyward did. Everyone points to the WS win. His contributions to that season as a whole and those playoffs were minimal at best.
He did make a contribution in 2016 with his defense earning a well deserved Gold Glove. He was supposed to play CF that year, but luckily Dexter Fowler fell back into the Cubs lap during spring training after his agreement with the Orioles fell through. Jorge Soler would have been the RF and he was worse. Plus Schwarber was injured all year, too.
But he did give the motivating speech. You’d like to rewrite history and assume someone elsw have done that? Doubtful. Supposedly the speech referenced Maddons puzzling moves that nearly cost them the game and a historic fold. Required a vet with the subtle tact of a JHey who commanded universal reaoect to convey that message. Not sure a bratty Rizzo or redass like Lester would have done better. Right man at the right time.
I had a friend’s spouse miss a flight by thirty seconds where the whole plane crashed with no survivors. The bad traffic delay was a live saver.
When you win a World Series, every player was crucial even the worst on the roster. So I am comfortable saying he was essential to their championship, as was the whole team.
Massive overpay, but a class guy.
I’d do the math, but we all saw what happened when I tried to do so in the Justin Verlander comments section
I’ll do the math. Heyward will receive $171 million (taking out $13 million because of the pandemic season) from the Cubs. His bWAR was 8.9 for the Cubs. At about $8 million per WAR, that’s $71 million. Net value is -$100 million.
Donny,
That passes the eyeball and smell test, I was thinking he was worth about half of what he got.
Goal was to win a world series, he contributed mightily–in word and deed. Sounds like a success, though I am sure most of the anti-Cub folks on here will lose it after reading this.
And guess what? I could not care less
One area where Cub and Sox fans can agree- JHey was the man for the mome t. and the Cubs and City of Chicago were better for it. When you’re a franchise that has had one title in 114 years and a city that (save for the Reinsdorf Bulls) can count championships on one Antonio Alfonseca sized hand, you don’t sweat the details. Ricketts money and they are way way ahead in the game of life. Debatable whether the once neighborly Lakeview is better for it given the tacky monstrosity of Rickettsville, but that’s another convo.
He was definitely a bust in that CHC did not get anywhere near the value from his performance as expected. By 2021 they were just hoping he’d turn in at least a replacement level showing. Were it not for the contract he would have been traded by 2019 at the latest. Despite all that Heyward was still not in the same ZIP code as Chris Davis bust status. He stayed healthy and available which does warrant some merit.
The Cubs would of eaten most of the deal to move him but by then everyone had figured out he couldn’t hit.
Yes, Heyward a bust.
World Series Champion
Very well paid but they won
Pardon my weird take here, but we could let Ozuna go and pick up Heyward. We would pay Heyward the league minimum, so letting Ozuna go would sting so bad. At least we’d have a better defensive player.
No, he wasn’t a bust. When all is said and done, he was a solid Major League baseball player. Overpaid? Probably, but not a bust.
A bust is a guy like Mark Appel.
Bust from hype wise good enough ball player
He’s finished.
I actually think he will play next year, someone will sign him since they only have to pay him league minimum. That’s low enough to take a flier on him while Chicago is paying him the $22M. Will he make it all year without being released? Depends… but if its a non-playoff team he might
if Cano cam play for 4 more teams, then he’ll find a landing place.
Rays might be a good fit
Some really young team will see him as a leader to the youngsters.
We need some outfielders on the south side, actually, and if he comes dirt cheap then he’s our kind of guy.
Yeah if Ricketts is paying the freight can he play a serviceable RF until Colas is ready? Hit righties at all?
I see Red Sox written all over him.
Sadly, I have to agree with you.
Wish reds have offered Mike mousakes in a straight salary dump trade.
Why?
He is a bust because of the contract. If they had signed him to a 12mill contract he would have been fine.
So if he was making 12 million year he wouldn’t be a bust?
33.3 career WAR isn’t a bust.
He was just overpaid.
Per Baseball Reference: In 13 seasons—Heyward’s career WAR is actually 38.7. In 22 seasons Harold Baines career WAR was 38.8.
There is obviously a very, very, very small difference between a “bust” and a “Hall of Famer”
This is pretty neat. Where will he wind up next as he get picked up on the cheap correct? Jason Heyward and his Miami Marlins? Pittsburgh Pirates? Oakland Athletics?
Exactly this, this is a good minimum salary pickup now for one of those non playoff teams.
No, it’s really not. For two years now he’s been below replacement level, and only that good because of his reputation as a defender (unclear whether that’s still an accurate reputation). His bat has been AA level. Of course someone will be stupid and grab him just to say they signed a dude who used to be good. But they shouldn’t. Every team in baseball has a half dozen outfielders in MLB, AAA, and AA who are better. Most have 8 or 9.
Those teams need NAMES too though to put fans in the seats. And he will be given the chance by a team that doesn’t plan on making the postseason to show he is good enough to keep one of those kids down in the controllable minors longer and have a well known player on the field. Oakland is screaming his name.
@Nick I could see him going to the Rockies on a 1yr deal hoping the thin air can juice him up..but that’s about it..
Who is buying a ticket to a baseball game to go see Jason Heyward play? In 2023? Maybe 6 years ago. Fans don’t get to excited these days about reclamation projects.
The Pirates are going with their kids. Why in the world would they want this guy?
Now, having asked that, I’m sure Cherington will make an offer because where the Pirates are concerned, nothing makes sense
He will hit 36 HR in pinstripes, where even a slight adjustment to his launch angle will turn those GBs into POs and HRs in the short RF porch. There will be a new Say Hey kid in NY.
Heyward is Judge’s replacement lol.
One of the worst contracts ever to be handed out to a player. What a waste of money. Heyward should have given most of it back. Totally overrated player.
Would you have? All big contracts are risks. If someone signed a big money deal and far outplayed it, does the team owe him more money? Nope. Cubs just got burned this time.
Why so angry? Not your money.
He has GIVEN BACK in many other ways—he is still building a baseball and youth academy in Chicago for underprivileged kids.
It’s amazing how many will only judge him for the bad.
We don’t have a ton of insight to voting but just being a nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award should give a pretty idea of what kind of guy he is.
Wow, he’s only 33. Would’ve thought he was late 30’s by now.
His bat is in its late 30s.
Yeah deceptive. He was 8 when he entered into that 25 yr contract.
Bad contract? Sure.
Nowhere near the worst.
That belongs to Chris Davis, hands down.
I think in the end there are a few contracts of comparable outcomes to Heyward’s. One that comes to mind is Mike Hampton- one of the OG record breaking mega contracts that became a seemingly endless cycle of waiting for it to end, looking at the years and dollars left on it and the league having to endure it, tossing him from team to team to chip away at it in chunks.
Patrick Corbin’s has arguably been a worse value and that’s flown under the radar for the most part.
Carl Crawford on the Red Sox…. Jacoby Ellsbury on the Yankees…
Etc.
heyward. was a bust. andruw jones II, just waiting on that big year. it came with st louis, nothing much after that. about as awful as the zito contract with the giants.
and if you say if it was worth it for the motivation speech during to 2016 ws rain delay, im sure matt foley or tony robbins could have been had for $5 0r 10 dollars.
Has to be Davis…Although Hamilton might be a very close 2nd.
Bad contracts — Vernon Wells (7 years/$126M) TOR (2008-14)
Total bWAR during contract length: 6.8 bWAR
With $86M left on his contract, he was [somehow] traded to LAA for Mike Napoli, Juan Rivera and the safe release of the GM’s second-born (first born was a redhead).
Wells is definitely in the upper echelon of all-time bad contract contenders.
All because The Rangers signed Adrian Beltre. That was Angels counter move.
One story had Beltre begging the Angels to sign him.
The other had Angels begging Beltre to sign. I don’t know which one was accurate.
Strasburg has started exactly eight games for about 30 innings that last three seasons at a cost of $105M—with still $140M more to be put into the wallet.
Definitely a heavyweight contender. He was instrumental in their WS title though which is a lot more than can be said by some of the other guys were talking about.
Heyward is a prime example of when guys get paid for what they did, not what they will do. He’s also a prime example of why it’s sometimes okay and a good thing for the sport to overpay people to under perform-
Heyward had the exact kind of body type and playing style that would age poorly despite how productive it was in his earliest, youngest years.
Considering how very little he was paid through arbitration going into free agency, his free agency contract was a very fair kind of back end payment for what his value had been up to that point.
A 5 WAR Average player going into free agency. A 1.2 WAR average player over the lifetime of his free agency deal. He got paid for what he was going into free agency.
I don’t think it would have been fair to have been brutally cautious about him going into his free agency to pay him nothing and see him wither away in terms of financial might, deal lengths, etc. and it was very fair to pay him what he was worth heading into free agency and going by his age at the time- Top of the Line guys his age going into free agency are typically tendered 7-8 year deals and that’s what he got.
I understand what a huge bust he was, but I think it was an ugly probable outcome that came to fruition and at least the league paid him for what his value was in his prime.
Most FA contracts are the players being paid for what they did. How else would they know un less they use another with comparable stats.
But I think there are some guys who reach free agency while they are peaking before a steep decline, some guys who will maintain a steady level of productivity and value for another 5+ years, some guys who are still improving and have yet to peak, etc. and most organizations’ GM’s, statisticians, scouts, etc. recognize the differences between those types of players- it’s why some guys get 5+ year monster deals and some guys get 1-2 year deals for similar offensive numbers (two guys both hit around 35 HR’s with around 110 RBI’s and get wildly different contract values and lengths, etc.)
And I think Heyward was someone most people were concerned would drop off sooner rather than later due to his size and his position, on top of the fact that he had generally mediocre offensive numbers and his WAR was bloated by his defensive metrics, the exact kind of value that generally declines more as a player ages than their offensive numbers.
Probably the most overrated and over paid FA class of all time that included David Price $217M, Grienke $207M, Zimmerson and Upton at a $110 and $130M.
Hosmer …
JBJ?
Very few if any deals over 3-4 years ever work out.
This I disagree with. I think people exaggerate how often these mega deals don’t work. It’s usually 50/50 in my eyes. That being said, Heyward is clearly a case of one that didn’t work.
Per OPS+, he was only about 42% worse than league average. Not bad! Could be 90% or 100% worse.
Being a Jays fan, Vernon Wells’ contact was horrible!
Cost Tony Reagins his job. I bet the Toronto brass couldn’t believe they unloaded Wells’s contract without having to pay some of it.
Ever since Heyward (an Atlanta native) wined about not being extended with the Braves and went on to suggest the braves should be stripped of the all-star game because of politics I have been happy to hear of his mlb misfortunes.
He performed admirably with a city’s pressure of being called the next Hank Aaron – even homering in his debut at home, with Aaron present. Being an ATL native, I’d whine too if I were unable to be extended. Him not being extended allowed finances for his BFF, Freeman, to get the franchise’s largest contract ever (at the time), and Kimbrel to be extended. Heyward eventually was traded to STL in a deal that eventually got us Swanson, another hometown favorite. Even now, Heyward has built a baseball academy in Chicago, continuing a ton of work in the community, so while he may not have at the same results as Hammerin’ Hank on the field, off the field he’s carried the torch quite well. I hope he lands on his feet. We need more like him.
It’s fair that you say you’d whine too being an Atlanta native. I guess that’s how most people would feel. I just don’t see why baseball had to get political though.
Most Braves fans remember 2021 for a World Series win, not a lost All-Star Game. When did we take this arbitrary game that has no outcome on the season so seriously?
One could argue a player averaging 5 WAR/year deserves a good extension, but the Braves love to penny pinch and browbeat all their players into pay cuts for a “winning culture”, it’s the shameful reason why Freddie Freeman won’t get to retire there, either.
Also I’m confused; how did you expect Heyward and national MLB fans to react towards overtly racist political leadership?
Everything is “racist”. You still make the argument that a sports team should be punished over a political move. The Atlanta braves and most of the people in the state have nothing to do with voting laws. The only reason race is an issue so much is because media is always talking about it. I live in Atlanta. I am from a mixed family of black and white. There is just as much “racism” on both sides of the race spectrum. Let’s overlook the massive amount of positive strides the country has made over the last 60 years. Back to baseball.
There was clearly an abuse of voting laws. Regardless of ones political position. Anyone suggesting otherwise is too biased to observe the evidence.
Keep chopping away there Rishi.
Lol. Well is baseball not a sport played for fans (and revenue obviously).
Still remember the Sports Illustrated cover with Heyward and Freeman as cornerstones of the Brave’s future. Very likable player with that infectious smile. And was excited when we traded for the former first round draft pick. We sure dodged a bullet when he opted for the Cubs. Often the best deal a team can make is no deal.
Is he really washed up?
Does he have any value defensively?
I don’t care about his bat
Nooooooooooooo!!!
Solid team player, has great interaction with fans.
Good guy to have in the clubhouse.
Bad guy to have batting with a man on.
Pretty good defensive outfielder in early years.
Overall, not enough value to meet contract terms.
$184MM bust.
Kate Upton?
I see what you did there?
I can’t stop laughing
I just keep thinking how many bad moves the Cubs made to get to where they are now with basically only Hendricks left from the WS team.
True dat. Letting Darvish go for Davies and pocket lint right in their competitive window definitely accelerated the demise. To the extent this was a knee jerk reaction to the bad Heyward contract was a bummer. Then again the Bryzzo core got fat and complacent so there’s that too.
Not resigning Baez was a win though
Heyward received the big money contract from the Cubs because he was 26 years old at the time. They bet on him having the best years of his career in the first half of that contract. The Cubs may not have gotten the best of Heyward’s career, but they did finally get a WS championship during his time there. It’s a fair trade-off. Not much to complain about, really…
Heyward didn’t live up to the contract but he also greatly outperformed his pre-FA earnings, and if he hung ’em up today he had a pretty good career. 38.7 career WAR puts him 60th *all time* for RF’s. Just behind HOF Harold Baines. Tied with Juan Gonzalez. Ahead of Kirk Gibson, Roger Maris, Jose Bautista, Ken Griffey Sr., Hunter Pence, Jay Buhner, etc., etc. He’s not a bum and he accepted the contract he was offered. Who cares if a billionaire made a bad investment?
One World Series in a 120 years pffffft
Having him listed among only RFs is deceptive as that’s where they place slower LFs with good arms.
He did play CF too tho
Codeeg …. i need an explanation on this one .. he played 1400 of his 1500 outfield games in right field … how would you not classify him as a RF? Thats like saying CMC is not a RB because he also lines up as a wr or Peyton Manning as a RB because he sometimes ran the ball.
Also left field is usually where you try to hide your worst fielder with a good bat that you cant fit in anywhere else.
My point was more he could have easily also played LF so why not include him in that bunch too? Or why not exclude his CF games. Don’t see a point in cherry-picking his stats as he was talented enough for other positions.
Im sure Derek Jeter could have easily played outfield, why not include him in those lists against babe ruth, ken griffey jr, ricky henderson, and reggie jackson?
Mariano Rivera could have and actually did start some games and was atrocious why did they not account for that and not unanimously vote him into the hall of fame. A starting pitcher with a 6ERA should have atleast one question against him.
Trea Turner was a centerfielder, why are they marketing him in the SS market? Centerfielder is just as wanted if not more and much less competition..
i am not cherry picking his stats. I am picking where he played and where his skill set played the most and by far. By your own admission,”RFs is deceptive as that’s where they place slower LFs with good arms” He had a solid arm so he played right field which is better suited for him in those stadiums and you can actually say the opposite as well depending on the stadium as you need someone that can cover ground in LA with the big right field.and need someone with a little speed.
At league minimum a number of teams can take a flier on Heyward with zero risk. He may very well be at the end of the line but someone will give him a chance
Both the Cubs and Astros came out of rebuilds in 2015.
The Cubs won the WS in 2016 and Theo Epstein is a legendary genius that walks on water.
The Cubs haven’t really had a contending season since 2018….and that’s really a stretch.
The Astros have had 8 consecutive contending seasons starting in 2015, and won 2 WS’s. They’ll contend again in 2023.
This illustrates how important it is for a FO head to build an organization that can continuously acquire and develop it’s own players – particularly pitchers – as opposed to “going for it” by buying / overpaying players in free agency, then firing the coaches when they don’t pan out.
Hope the FO’s of the Orioles and Guardians don’t make the moves posters are suggesting for them here in the comment section during this offseason.
Theo is a legend. The Cubs did contend from 2015-2020.
Funny, the Astros did not make the postseason in 2016, but they certainly did something about it in *2017.
Ohhh Samuel!!! You mute master lol. Somehow I’m able to reply… I’m shocked you’re on here boasting about the amazing FO of the Astros.. what a surprise! You’re such a homer! Any chance you get… you’re spewing your love fest for ‘Mr Crane’. Its pathetic! Mute mute mute lol
The Astros have been masters at turning around players that were struggling. People forget that the consensus about Justin Verlander prior to the Astros acquiring him was that his best days were long gone.. They changed Charlie Morton from a “good” pitcher into a superstar. They turned Gerrit Cole around after 2 mediocre years with the Pirates back into the beast he was.
Since he ranks #1 in similarity to Lloyd Moseby.; Should the Jays pick him up ASAP?
… I’d take The Shaker on my team, Buff.
$22M next year for not working. SMH
Kudos to the MLBPA. Must be great to have such a strong union
I think Dexter Fowler is available. He is willing to play CF.
I never “got” Jason Heyward. Even prior to the deal with the Cubs he was vastly overrated. He’ll go down in Baseball history as the sports largest singles hitter.
Anyone who produces like an all star when they’re in their early twenties is automatically considered a future HoF by the media
Future Red Sock
“any signing club would only have to pay him the league minimum, with that amount being subtracted from what the Cubs pay. ”
I don’t get this. Does this mean that unless he signs a deal for larger than $22m he will effectively be playing ‘ for free’ next year? I thought the player was supposed to be able to keep the shedded salary plus earn more on a new deal.
Can’t keep the additional money unless he signs a contract for more than what’s owed. Not happening here!
He won’t be playing for free. He’ll be playing for $22MM, but the new team will only have to pay league minimum with the rest paid by the Cubs. Now, he can simply walk away from the game and still get his $22MM, but if he wants to play for another MLB team, he doesn’t get additional money.
I believe the league minimum nowadays is close to a mil. Let’s say for argument’s sake that it is a million. If a club signs Heyward, they’re only responsible for paying him a $ 1 million dollars. The remainder of his contract of $ 21 million is going to be paid by the Cubs: $ 22 million (what Heyward is owed) minus 1 million (league minimum) to be paid by the team signing him equals 21 million (the remainder of what Heyward is owed by the Cubs. Hope this helps.
No, the Cubs are on the hook for the difference. If somebody pays him a mil, Cubs will still owe him 21 mil
I believe it means the Cubs are on the hook for his entire ’23 salary, unless he signs (plays) with another team. If another team signs him, whatever amount they pay (I can’t see any reason to pay more than the league minimum..) would be subtracted from what the Cubs owe him.
So, if his ’23 salary is $20 mil from Chicago, and team X (I’m guessing MKE, just because of the league minimum thing and how poor Mark A. & Co are..) pays him $1 mil (I have no clue what the minimum is, but this is just an example anyway) then the Cubs pay $19 mil, MKE pays $1 mil and he “earns” $20 million.
Definitely not the worst contract. That honor falls to Milton Bradley. There was a local radio program discussing the worst contracts by the White Sox and Cubs in Chicago which explicitly stated this.
I think that if his contract was up until 2020 instead of 2023, people would not be griping about it. But his poor performance in 2021 and 2022 and the overall poor performance of the Cubs as a team while rebuilding exposed Heyward’s contract.
.
Some of Heyward’s highlights on the Cubs included: 1) talking the team off the ledge during the WS (which was the very antithesis of the Moises Alou meltdown over the foul ball in 2003 NLCS); 2) two gold gloves; 3) 21 home runs in 2019; and 4) a high OPS in the shortened season of 2020.
Wow!!! 21 homers, you say?
That seems silly. Player should get original shedded salary plus new. With how it apparently is the player is effectively playing for free in the sense that unless he gets a $23m deal, he’ll be earning the same amount as he would if he sat at home.
@jon m why should he get another check on top of his 23 mil, either he sits at home or finds a new team he is under contract and is getting a check.
Because the original deal is supposed to be fully guaranteed, not ‘fully guaranteed less whatever some other team pays you if we decide to cut you’.
$22 mil and you think he should get more for being so bad his team is willing to pay that for not being on the roster next year?
Wish I could snag a deal like that.
Yes Manny, he should get the original contract that the team guaranteed and could still have him playing for if they chose. And anyway, players get hosed early in their careers.
I am predicting that Hosmer will have a new bff in Boston.
Not the first, nor the last contract that will live in infamy of bad ones, but that went south fast. When the snow is deep an the hot stove is hot, they’ll have a all time bad contracts episode somewhere. He’ll get his due.
Minnesota just dodged a bullet with Correa, but will they re-up for more money, that’ll be a hoot if they do. In Detroit we are holding our breaths with a new helmsman, lets not get any dud’s either.
He’s a great clubhouse guy but tbe contract just didn’t work out. I hope him nothing but the best in all his future endeavors. He’s only 33. He’s still an elite defender. Too bad there isn’t a DF(Designated Fielder)
One of the worst contracts in history. Age. How fast he fell, offense. On and on and on
One of the most generous and charitable players in the game today. Whatever team he winds up with may not be better, but whatever city he winds up in will be.
Jason’s downward spiral has always mystified me. Is it mental? Is there some undetermined injury? Is it his vision?
His bat never recovered after a very scary beaning in 2013 which I believe broke his jaw.
Almost every team has a place for him on a roster. What role does he want? How much money does he want. Would he settle for an invitation to spring training. I say he plays next year. Wish him the best!
Ah,if you read the article, he’s making $22 Million next year regardless of whether he plays or not……and if he does, it would suggest he is still trying to get another deal for beyond the 2023 season and will try and convince some sucker that he’s not finished at 35……”almost every team” certainly can find talent to play the outfield for less than the $ Millions he would want on another contract……and please everyone stop with the “great clubhouse guy” stuff….making $23 Million produces an awful lot of good clubhouse chatter when you know its guaranteed regardless of what you produce.
He’s going to the rays you can put it on the board yessssss
Hear me out… Braves should bring him back on a 1 mil to league min deal. Lefty bat, plays good defense, and somehow hits better than Ozuna. Platoon him in lf if needed. In fact, bring back duvall and platoon him and heyward in left
The hate for Ozuna is so strong from many Braves fans. What are you doing with Eddie Rosario?
There is no reason Ozuna can’t hit better next year, I wouldn’t say Ozuna was poor this year, his stats are down quite definitely, but he still hit 23 home runs, and he had a lot of bad luck with hard hit balls. The other thing is that he did not play consistently, by that I mean he did not play day in day out, it’s not so easy to hit, sit, hit.
He needs to go away and get fit, and maybe not think so much about El Presidente, which is the curse of a lot of players.
Anyone else having problems when going on Baseball Reference (clicking players link) and trying to view stats? When I click on a player and it goes to BR’s site it doesn’t show stats from each season like before.
To bad he forgot how to play baseball. Total amnesia. He started his career so well.
Over hyped since day 1, I remember his competition with Buster for the ROY award, he lost out but put in folks minds he might be really good, too bad he never lived up to that expectation. The return on investment with this guy was embarrassing low, superstar salary for a couple good games a year, forgot how to hit, basically a glove guy.
Try Boston, Jason. You could easily win an outfield position over that crew they have now.
Phillies must be on the radar….
Harper’s probable UCL surgery and it’ll keep him out until the @All Star break…..Schwarber, Marsh and Heyward in the OF, Castellanos to DH and Vierling…Phils don’t really have an MLB ready OF’er in aaa and their window is NOW…
Plus the shift is going away….
Best and most expensive motivational speaker in MLB history. His words single-handedly broke the Steve Bartman Scapegoat Rajai Davis ultimate HR-power curse.
If he can become a reliever, he could be the Marlins next Closer.
UZR/150 can burn in hell. Not hard to calculate how far an outfielder has to run to see what kind of range he has. Cubs and Jason Heyward and aTm and Jimbo Fisher. DUPED
Don’t get me wrong. He is a great RF. But WAR is jacked up putting that much value in corner OF defense.
Thank you! That’s why I get a kick when so many posters try to dismiss every person’s opinion about certain players with WAR as though it is a better measure than everything else.
I go with the stats that match what we see on the field. If a player looks good in a game that you watched him play in or in games for an entire season, there are certain stats that reflect that. When a guy that doesn’t look good when you watch him play, don’t come at me with stats that say that I’m wrong about what I’m seeing happen in a game or a season.
Jayson Heyward, Juan Lagares, Ricky Nolasco, and many others that analytics favored all proved that certain advanced stats and certain analytics and certain formulaic creations by statisticians were wrong or, in the very least, should be taken with a grain of salt. WAR is one of them.
MarlinsFanBase;
LOL
Actually, fWAR is one of the better ones. The defensive stats are just a joke.
Did you see the GG nominees this year? Brutal. Whatever committee oversees them started putting a large weighing factor on defensive stats.
This is like schools that prime students to pass tests, then advertise how educated their students are. When one talks it people in business and industry that tell you the graduates are so dumb they have to do things like teach them basic English and math so they can duo simple jobs,
There have always been players that play for their stats. Today they can get paid for that. The smart franchises have their own internal stats which is why they constantly both make good trades as well as drafting and acquiring players.
Lots of talent. A season of not being under pressure due to large contract and playing with a winner ( assuming one gives him a chance) could turn him around.
Yeah, at age 33, he’s got possible turnaround written all over him.
FYI – every single player that makes it to MLB has lots of talent, even if it’s all compacted into one tool. The difference is how good he can play against all of the other most talented players in the world. Heyward, like many others, has shown that he’s a MLB player, but not as good as projected to be.
MarlinsFanBase;
Here’s the thing…..
Heyward thrived in St. Louis which is why he got that contract.
At the time he was there the Cardinals had a strong organization and clubhouse which had players both working together and supporting one another. That made everyone better. Before he got there and after he left he played on teams that weren’t structured that way.
From what I’ve seen Mr. Heyward comes off as a decent human being. Unfortunately, his profession is in a cutthroat business. Heck., look at this comment section….and this is nothing compared to what goes on.
“Mr. Heyward, you have a call from Oakland on line one.”
Epstein was the most overrated executive in any sport. He traded an all-star team for utility players and failed miserably to evaluate free agents. He had no player development plan and now wants a percentage of ownership to be a teams GM. Good luck and good riddance!
Epstein ended the two longest championship droughts in baseball. MLB’s beat writers named him the best GM ever for BOTH clubs.
mlb.com/news/best-all-time-general-managers-for-ev…
Jason was overpaid, sure, but he was a class act and a great defender and I hope he dons a new uniform next year.
No one outside of the Cubs orginazation thought that contract was going to work out. Heyward has been living off of his minor league hype throughout his entire career.