Jason Heyward to CUBS!!!

[Tim]

I'm curious to see if Baez will be put in Center Field and Heyward kept in right. Jason Heyward's proven elite corner range should take some of the pressure off Baez's Outfield transition. And from various reports it seems as though Soler has generated more trade interest than Baez. So Soler could then be dealt for quality rotation help.

Also if Heyward's traditional struggles against lefties carry into 2016 will Maddon dare bench his highest paid player against above average left handers. Or will Heyward's elite range be deemed worth the likelihood of a poor offensive outing.

Since so much of Heyward's value is range it would seem that giving him occasional days off, against quality lefties, would be a worthwhile gamble. Come August and September, when players tend to wear down, I would imagine that range and base running prowess would be the first skills to decline. That would make Heyward a whole lot less valuable.

Deja vu over here

I prefer persistencey when it comes to getting responses to legit questions. You don't think its really interesting to consider come October if its Cubs/Dodgers, and Kershaw is on the mound, to wonder if Heyward will start despite career poor numbers against lefties. I think its a fair question to ponder if good defensive range outweighs a likely bad night at the plate.

But yeah you can keep on getting hard over Heyward if you like. Its not that hard to find legit flaws with him though. I just hope he pulls a Greinke and opts out for more money elsewhere. I much prefer unloading the brinks truck for Harper.

Okay...I'll bite.

The flip side of that argument is that you're anticipating a low scoring game against Kershaw no matter what. So you may want your best defenders on the field in an attempt to prevent the other team from scoring, as well. And while Heyward doesn't hit particularly well against lefties, he does still work the count and drive up the pitcher's workload. So yeah, you'd probably still keep him out there.

The more interesting scenario, to be honest, is if you're facing a pitcher who murders lefties but gets lit up by right handers. In which case...you'd probably still put Heyward out there because of his complete game but might think about giving Schwarber the day off.

[David]

Heyward is the Cubs' centerfielder after winning three gold gloves in right:

“That helped in being able to sign him without executing other moves,” Epstein said. “We expect him to be a solid to excellent centerfielder.”

The Cubs were forced to trade Starlin Castro to make room for Zobrist but not so for Heyward. He’s in center for now. He credited his good defense to being focused throughout the game.

“I never take a pitch off,” he said. “There are 27 outs. I'm not asleep for any of those."

Heyward could bat first or sixth -- or anywhere in between.

“Some early mock-ups had [Ben] Zobrist No. 1, Heyward No. 2 but that will change a dozen times before Joe [Maddon] puts on his music and figures out that first lineup in Anaheim,” Epstein said.

The feeling is Heyward and Zobrist are such good contact hitters that if the Cubs are struggling to hit with men on-base one of them might move down in the order. Knowing Maddon there won’t be a set lineup unless the team takes off and doesn’t stop scoring.

The Cubs are big on bringing in players that will fit into the clubhouse atmosphere which has developed over the last couple of seasons.

Epstein had high praise for Heyward and what he can bring to the team.

“When you talk to players who have been in the same clubhouse as Jason Heyward, to a man, they say that Jason is one of those rare guys that makes his team better,” Epstein stated. “That’s a rare compliment to throw around.”

Heyward displayed some of that attitude with reporters, repeatedly declaring he would do what’s best for the team, starting with playing center field.

The creative contract the sides devised allows for flexibility for the Cubs, big paydays for Heyward when the team has more money in its coffers, and the ability for him to opt out two different times.

“There was some effort to recognize the prime years and compensate him for those while pushing the money into the years when we’ll have a robust television contract,” Epstein stated.

Heyward’s 2016 salary is only $15 million as the Cubs are nearly maxed out for this offseason. They’re not likely to add big during free agency next year, when Heyward’s paycheck goes up to $21.5 million. They also potentially lose a sizable salary in Jason Hammel if the team doesn’t pick up his option. The Cubs created flexibility where they needed it, while Heyward gets paid even more if he performs and opts out of his deal after 2018 or 2019.

Heyward was appreciative of Addison Russell giving up No. 22.

“I’ll send him an IOU and we’ll agree to terms on something,” Heyward said.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/po ... gs-to-know

[David]

Heyward was asked a leading question about how he sounds like he sees himself here for the long haul, not just 3 or 4 years. He answered, paraphrasing, that that's definitely true and the opt outs are just things his agent put in for his protection and to keep his options open. Basically said what he had to say.

[Backtobanks]

Heyward was asked a leading question about how he sounds like he sees himself here for the long haul, not just 3 or 4 years. He answered, paraphrasing, that that's definitely true and the opt outs are just things his agent put in for his protection and to keep his options open. Basically said what he had to say.

I do think he plans to stay longer, but what would you expect him to say at his press conference welcoming him to Chicago? It's not like he's going to say "Thanks for the big welcome, but I'll be leaving asap."

[David]

Heyward was asked a leading question about how he sounds like he sees himself here for the long haul, not just 3 or 4 years. He answered, paraphrasing, that that's definitely true and the opt outs are just things his agent put in for his protection and to keep his options open. Basically said what he had to say.

I do think he plans to stay longer, but what would you expect him to say at his press conference welcoming him to Chicago? It's not like he's going to say "Thanks for the big welcome, but I'll be leaving asap."

Yep. Said what he had to say.

[sneakypower]

Heyward was asked a leading question about how he sounds like he sees himself here for the long haul, not just 3 or 4 years. He answered, paraphrasing, that that's definitely true and the opt outs are just things his agent put in for his protection and to keep his options open. Basically said what he had to say.

he also said he loved playing in StL fwiw...he's very diplomatic

[Tim]

Heyward was asked a leading question about how he sounds like he sees himself here for the long haul, not just 3 or 4 years. He answered, paraphrasing, that that's definitely true and the opt outs are just things his agent put in for his protection and to keep his options open. Basically said what he had to say.

he also said he loved playing in StL fwiw...he's very diplomatic

Yes, but he gave up his cloud in baseball heaven.

[NonProfitCow]

it's 15 minutes after heyward's introduced and waddle & silvy have their first caller to say "we paid $184m for a right fielder that doesn't hit home runs"

Get used to it. It will get brought up constantly, and it's maddening.

[David]

if you missed the heyward interview

[Tim]

it's 15 minutes after heyward's introduced and waddle & silvy have their first caller to say "we paid $184m for a right fielder that doesn't hit home runs"

Get used to it. It will get brought up constantly, and it's maddening.

What are the more intelligent Cards fans saying about this offseason? Is there a lot of frustration that offensive upgrades are not going to be pursued?

[David]

it's 15 minutes after heyward's introduced and waddle & silvy have their first caller to say "we paid $184m for a right fielder that doesn't hit home runs"

Get used to it. It will get brought up constantly, and it's maddening.

What are the more intelligent Cards fans saying about this offseason? Is there a lot of frustration that offensive upgrades are not going to be pursued?

Sure seems that way at GRB. Then there's the ones who just have blind faith in Mozeliak and are OK with whatever they do and don't want to sign any "unreasonable" or "crazy" contracts even though the Cardinals are pocketing huge revenues if they don't.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

What would we be saying if the Cardinals projected to a bajillion wins, we were having a bad offseason but still projected to be pretty good and had a long history of success?

[SouthSideRyan]

it's 15 minutes after heyward's introduced and waddle & silvy have their first caller to say "we paid $184m for a right fielder that doesn't hit home runs"

Get used to it. It will get brought up constantly, and it's maddening.

Has Wittenmeyer started on this yet?

[NonProfitCow]

What are the more intelligent Cards fans saying about this offseason? Is there a lot of frustration that offensive upgrades are not going to be pursued?

Obviously a lot of frustration. I don't actually believe that they're not going to pursue an offensive upgrade though.

[Tim]

What are the more intelligent Cards fans saying about this offseason? Is there a lot of frustration that offensive upgrades are not going to be pursued?

Obviously a lot of frustration. I don't actually believe that they're not going to pursue an offensive upgrade though.

I can definitely understand not wanting to do a long term contract with Davis, but he'd make so much sense for the next couple years.

[Sammy Sofa]

it's 15 minutes after heyward's introduced and waddle & silvy have their first caller to say "we paid $184m for a right fielder that doesn't hit home runs"

Get used to it. It will get brought up constantly, and it's maddening.

[expletive]. I called it.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

What would we be saying if the Cardinals projected to a bajillion wins, we were having a bad offseason but still projected to be pretty good and had a long history of success?

There's definitely a lot of dissonance, but it's understandable. They've been good for years without much external help. The dissonance comes in that they need to hit on Piscotty, Grichuk, and probably Wong in order to continue to be a division winner, and while they got good mileage out of Carpenter, Craig, and Freese, I'm not sure if that's a super repeatable plan. Especially when they have money to spend, no immediate need to lock up guys internally, and scarce FA options for the immediate future. Add in that the Cardinals sure didn't trade for Heyward with the plan to let him walk, and this is definitely a real bad outcome for them. The disappointment of the offseason probably makes them seem worse than they are, but with the way things stand today they're in a jumble of competitive teams that's likely chasing a wild card bid. That doesn't bode well for a team that doesn't look to have a 4-5 win player on their roster because their previous ones left or are in decline.

[SouthSideRyan]

I question(and hope) if there was a certain amount of BFIB hubris that played into the Heyward trade, thinking, well sure Heyward's a FA next year, but we'll be able to re-sign him because we're the [expletive] Cardinals.

[Tryptamine]

it's 15 minutes after heyward's introduced and waddle & silvy have their first caller to say "we paid $184m for a right fielder that doesn't hit home runs"

Get used to it. It will get brought up constantly, and it's maddening.

What are the more intelligent Cards fans saying about this offseason? Is there a lot of frustration that offensive upgrades are not going to be pursued?

I was surprised to see a couple people on GRB think they have the #1 rotation in the NL. How they couldn't even remotely justify that over the Mets is beyond me. Overall they seem to know the Cubs are better. However, if you believe the PSD Cardinal fans, Arrieta and Lester will regress, Schwarber is already a platoon DH, none of the Cub rookies improve, Lackey is hardly an improvement over Haren and the Cubs one record luck and Pythagorean luck will doom them. Combined with the Cardinals being healthy, they're already better than the Cubs.

[Vinestal]

if you missed the heyward interview

Thanks for posting the radio interview, I really enjoyed it.

[David]

[XZero77]

I was surprised to see a couple people on GRB think they have the #1 rotation in the NL. How they couldn't even remotely justify that over the Mets is beyond me.

I'd take the Mets rotation and the Nationals' over the Cards starting staff. St. Louis' rotation could be really good, but there is a fair bit of uncertainty there. Waino will be Waino (probably), but Martinez is coming off of injury, Garcia is always a ticking injury bomb, Wacha is volatile and Gonzalez is yet unproven. In a realistic worst case, their rotation could be swiss cheese. Heck, if the Cubs add another arm from the names rumored (Carrasco, etc), I'd like ours a fair bit better.

I think the Cards are going to add another SP this offseason to offset some of that uncertainty, though.

[shnsajax]

Lost a little respect for Addison. Not to mention he was 2 when George was drafted.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Oh no! Will he forward the Heyward IOU to Austin Jackson?

[minnesotacubsfan]

Nice