When the Chicago Cubs signed Jason Heyward in the winter following the 2015 season, most Cubs’ fans couldn’t be happier. At the time, it looked like the Cubs locked down a top outfielder for the better part of a decade. Fans rationalized his 2016 slow start because of slow starts for Heyward in years past. However, time showed that the offensive struggles weren’t simply a temporary blip.
In 2016, his first season with the Cubs, Heyward slashed .230/.306/.325. Each metric were career lows. Meanwhile, the Cubs were paying him $20 million for the year.