Hammel was also wildly inconsistent down the stretch last season and pitched terribly in the postseason.
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Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak told Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch he has not been informed of a time table for Heyward’s decision, and there is a chance Heyward does not decide where he wants to play in 2016 until the market develops further.
Despite getting Lackey at a discount, the Cubs could still be financially stretched in the attempt to sign Heyward as the free agent is said to be asking for least eight years at around $20 million per year.
If the Cubs do end up signing Heyward, it will be interesting to see what they do with their outfield. Despite the fact that Heyward had a solid 2015, it doesn’t look like the Cardinals will re-sign him.
And the scariest part, for the Cardinals and Cubs, of the Angels jumping in here?
Some rivals for Heyward believe the Cubs are driving his market, and sources say the Cubs have enough financial strength after filling other needs to suggest they could be among the most serious players for Heyward, a three-time Gold Glove victor. Signing Lackey and super utilityman Ben Zobrist gives the Cubs a veteran veneer to go with the young stars in the system.
A more low-profile free-agent outfielder is Denard Span, who’s still rehabbing a leg injury.
Even after the Castro trade, the Zobrist acquisition also means the Cubs retain enough the potential surplus to entertain trades of defensively challenge Jorge Soler and versatile infielder Javy Baez – though Hoyer suggested they might be less likely to move Baez with Castro gone. “They’ve been really wonderfully cooperative and (they’re) certainly trying their hardest to come up with as many resources as possible”. We sat down with them after the GM meetings (in November). “You have a budget number”.
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“But they’re always trying to find additional dollars”. Suffice to say, they have been really cooperative.
