Chicago Cubs Memo: Jason Heyward – No Assembly Required

There’s a story running on MLB.com that is titled, “Theo: Cubs Fans Haven’t  Seen The Real  Jason Heyward”. Which is kind of funny in itself because most Cubs fans when they read that would more than likely be saying to themselves, “Oh my god Theo, you mean he could be worse than last year”? But there is a troubling implication in the story that suggests that the Cubs are treating Heyward like they’re training a new pet, when in fact maybe they should just leave the poor guy alone to deal with his 184,000,000 problems.

Jason Heyward is the one you see walking around with a big sign on his neck that reads, “I’m the one who hit .230 for the World Champion Chicago Cubs”. And wherever he goes, he’s always explaining and reexplaining how and why a player who was deemed to have earned a $184 million contract could stink up the joint like he did last season. It was so bad in fact that the same story credits him (for lack of anything else to credit him with I guess) with being the head cheerleader for the team and “his inspirational message to his Cubs teammates during the rain delay in Game 7 appeared to spark a rally and an eventual World Series championship”.

But one might imagine the pressure that would accompany a contract of that magnitude for a player who, when you look at his offensive career numbers hasn’t really done much of anything. He’s a career .262 hitter with 17 home runs and 66 RBI. In his “career year”, which by the way was four years ago, he only drove in 82 along with a .269 BA. He did win his fourth Gold Glove this season, but no team pays out that kind of money for defense.

Jason Heyward Knows What The Deal Is

But apparently, no one knows all of this better than Jason Heyward. And he’s willing to do anything to show everyone that he is at least a far better player than he was last season. He went out and bought a house, for example, in Phoenix so he could be close to the Cubs spring training facilities. And where he could receive some good old fashioned “reeducation” as the Chinese Communists used to call it.

Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer puts a spin on what the Cubs are doing with Jason Heyward in Arizona saying, “You’re not re-inventing him but getting him back to some of the places where he had the most success”. But if that doesn’t sound like a reclamation project, then I don’t know what qualifies as one.

Why the Cubs are taking this approach with Jason Heyward is puzzling and it could easily end up being counterproductive. Because this is a player who is what he is. Discarding last season, he is steady, reliable and a professional in everything he does both on and off the field. And if the Cubs thought they were buying Ryan Braun or say Mookie Betts, they are not living on this planet.

The Cubs Are Riding A Slippery Slope With Heyward

Jason Heyward could and maybe should be sitting in his real home right now just relaxing and preparing himself for the upcoming season. He’s been through hell and it’s time to work his way back. Tweak this and tweak that and before you know it you have only succeeded in putting more pressure on him than he’s already putting on himself.

Jason Heyward does not appear to be the type of player who’s gonna say, “Ha ha, I got ya” and take the money and run. That’s why he’s in Arizona. Because he does care. And it’s not like the Cubs to be thinking – if they are – that they’re going to squeeze every ounce of that $184 million come hell or high water out of Jason Heyward.

Next: Pirates Making Push for Quintana

But this idea that the Cubs maybe see Heyward as a pet that only needs some of their tender lovin’ tweakin’ is a risky experiment to be engaging in after only one year when he still has seven years remaining on the contract that – don’t forget – you (Cubs) freely, willingly and enthusiastically gave him. Leave him alone and just let him be Jason Heyward. Because let’s face it.  The message being sent to Heyward is that he can’t fix this himself and that’s not exactly a confidence booster if you are on the receiving end.