If Jason Heyward doesn't play good defense, the contract will be an albatross

[Omar 382]

Heyward is a good hitter, but his bat alone does not make him worth 184 million dollars. For his career, he has a .431 SLG, .345 wOBA, and 118 wRC+. Very good offensive numbers, but there's no way that makes him worth nearly 200 million dollars. It's his stellar defense and baserunning that makes him so valuable. Give Heyward league-average defense, and he's suddenly very overwhelming as a cornerstone to a team.

So how likely is it that Heyward's good defense evaporates? I don't think it's as unlikely as some might think. Ellsbury was a great outfielder in Boston and yet has been very average in NY. Carl Crawford has been mediocre defensively since being great in TB. Gerardo Parra was at one time considered the greatest defensive outfielder in baseball, but by defensive metrics, he was one of the worst last year. All it takes is tweaking his knee and Heyward could easily lose a step in right field. It will be interesting to watch.

 

[Bolts]

I think it was obvious that a big part of him getting that deal was his gold glove defense. He's still pretty young so the offense can improve, but there's no way he gets 184 million on his offense alone.

 

[Irish7478]

And if his defense improves, but his hitting falls apart then he also isn't worth $180 million. I guess maybe the Cubs thought his hitting would stay consistent and his defense would stay consistent.

 

[Clayton]

I question his competitive spirit. He basically chose the Cubs because he questioned the talent level of the Cardinals' roster in the coming years. Heyward doesn't see himself as 'the man' which is ok. He can be an overpaid role player for someone else 3 years down the line.

 

[scoutyjones2]

LOL...he plays Right fucking field GG defense...that's like 2 plays a game...BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[StanMarsh51]

Heyward is a good hitter, but his bat alone does not make him worth 184 million dollars. For his career, he has a .431 SLG, .345 wOBA, and 118 wRC+. Very good offensive numbers, but there's no way that makes him worth nearly 200 million dollars. It's his stellar defense and baserunning that makes him so valuable. Give Heyward league-average defense, and he's suddenly very overwhelming as a cornerstone to a team.

So how likely is it that Heyward's good defense evaporates? I don't think it's as unlikely as some might think. Ellsbury was a great outfielder in Boston and yet has been very average in NY. Carl Crawford has been mediocre defensively since being great in TB. Gerardo Parra was at one time considered the greatest defensive outfielder in baseball, but by defensive metrics, he was one of the worst last year. All it takes is tweaking his knee and Heyward could easily lose a step in right field. It will be interesting to watch.

He's 26 so there's still plenty of time and room for his offense to grow. He's an interesting player in the sense that he's shown he could do just about everything at a pretty high level, but never put all of them together at the same time...I mean, he's hit near .300 before, had a near .400 OBP before, hit 25+ HR before, stole 20+ bases before, so we know the ability to do all these things is there, but it's just a matter of it all happening concurrently.

 

[Johnnydollaz89]

He's so overrated.

 

[broncosmitty]

Nobody gets paid like that for defense.

 

[bksballer89]

Nobody gets paid like that for defense.

facts

 

[ChicagoIrish]

Have any of you seen the Cubs lineup and the potential that's in it?

With Rizzo, Bryant, Schwarber and maybe even Russell and Soler, Heyward could be the 4th to 6th best bat in our lineup. The signing was based on his defense, age and ability to work counts and get on in front of the big boys.

 

[tducey]

Heyward has been under whelming thus far in his career. At least in the Cubs lineup he doesn't have to be the guy.