There are some teams or players who come out of this as losers, though. 353 on-base percentage. The lefty Heyward batting leadoff with switch-hitting Zobrist second to break-up the lefties makes a lot more sense to me.
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Who will bat leadoff for the Chicago Cubs in 2016?
The and were also in the hunt for Heyward, who played with St. Louis this past season. The past two seasons have been very productive for Heyward in terms of providing leadoff hitter skills, finishing both seasons with a. 351 and. But the Cubs are counting on him to help strengthen a batting order that includes young sluggers Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber.
Despite the silence from the front office, numerous Cubs players expressed their jubilation on Twitter.
Bryant tweeted: “Lackey, Zobrist & J-Hey”.
It was Theo Epstein’s version of rope-a-dope, culminating in the reported signing of Heyward on Friday.
After being swept by the New York Mets, its clear the Cubs have positioned themselves for a return trip the NLCS.
Rebuilding their middle relief corps, the Washington Nationals finalized deals with right-hander and ex-Yankee Shawn Kelley on a $15 million, three-year contract and with left-hander and ex-Met Oliver Perez on a $7 million, two-year deal.
In structuring the contract, the Cubs believe Heyward will be able to achieve the greatness forecast for him after the Braves took him as the 14th overall selection in the 2007 amateur draft.
Chicago finished last season 97-65 and made a run to the National League Championship Series, defeating division rivals Pittsburgh and St. Louis in the wild card game and division series, respectively. And he did hit 27 home runs as recently as 2012, and at the age of 26 may still develop power.
In his contract year with the Cardinals last summer, Heyward hit a career-high.
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There is still a ways to go this winter, and the Heyward signing could ignite the fall of more Cubs’ dominos. Lackey, like Heyward, left the rival Cardinals for the Cubs and figures to be Chicago’s No. 3 starter behind NL Cy Young Award victor Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester. Chances are the Cubs aren’t done making moves either, as they could trade for more pitching help by unloading Jorge Soler to make room for Heyward.
