Outfielder, Jason Heyward has officially been released by the Chicago Cubs with one year left on $184 Million deal.
In a move that Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer announced would be happening a few months ago, the team officially released longtime outfielder Jason Heyward.
Heyward was signed to an eight-year, 184-million dollar contract before the 2016 season following a breakout 2015 with the St. Louis Cardinals, and still had one year remaining on his deal.
He showed immense promise during his first couple seasons in the majors, and was coming off a .293/.359/.439 slash line in his final season before pitching tent with the Cubs.
Thank you for every moment, J-Hey. 🤟 https://t.co/npdeapmLE8 pic.twitter.com/i3uwAJmUlF
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) November 14, 2022
With Chicago, Heyward was expected to be the missing piece. The Cubs reached the postseason in 2015, but fell to the New York Mets in the NLCS. Heyward was supposed to be the player who lifted the team to a World Series championship.
Heyward struggled in his first season with the Cubs, hitting .230/.306/.325 over 142 games. Those struggles carried over to the playoffs, where Heyward hit just .104 in 16 games. The Cubs still won the World Series, breaking a 108-year drought. Heyward was credited for giving the team an important pep talk in Game 7.
Heyward improved slightly in his second season with the Cubs, but failed to reach his previous highs over the duration of his $184 million contract. He gave the Cubs elite defense in right field for seven seasons, but his performance at the plate was spotty. Heyward hit just .204 in his final season with the team. He was limited to 48 games due to a knee injury.
The Cubs have 33 players on their 40-man roster after Heyward’s departure, providing ample space to add players by Tuesday’s deadline to protect eligible minor-leaguers from the Rule 5 draft.
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