The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday night because there hadn’t been an official announcement.
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Heyward has a. 268 career batting average and has hit more than 18 home runs just once. He hit. 293 with 13 home runs and 60 RBIs, helping the Cardinals have the best record in baseball at 100-62 and win the NL Central title this year, according to ESPN.
After a series of negotiations that pitted two archrivals against each other for one right fielder, Jason Heyward has agreed to sign with the Cubs over the Cardinals, three sources familiar with the negotiations confirmed. But sabermetricians salivate over Heyward’s WAR of 6.5, the most among Cardinals position players last season, and his two Gold Gloves make him a welcome addition in center field, his new position. One general manager told CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman last offseason a $200 million deal for the former All-Star wouldn’t be a surprise.
The No. 14 pick in the 2007 MLB Draft and subsequent rookie of the year runner-up to San Francisco’s Buster Olney, Heyward is expected to play center for the Cubs.
For days, a “mystery team” was rumored to be among the finalists in the Jason Heyward sweepstakes.
The Cubs built a lineup out of prospects and young players they acquired in trades, and it helped them reach the NLCS in 2015. He can opt out after year three. All those attributes – prime age, elite defensive skills, an ability to grind out at-bats, off-the-field presence – made the Cubs see Heyward as a sound long-term investment.
The 26-year-old Heyward rated as the fourth best free-agent available according to our own Jeff Passan.
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Put that together with the way they pieced together the Warren, Castro trade to lay the foundation for the Zobrist move and this seems like deja vu. He also has a 114 OPS+ over the last four years and can contribute at the plate, too. The Boston Red Sox gave David Price almost twice as much money over seven seasons, and the Arizona Diamondbacks shocked everyone by giving Zack Greinke $206 million over six years.
