Nationals Are The Mystery Team in Jason Heyward Sweepstakes

The Chicago Cubs are now among one of the teams making smarts moves this off season.

The Chicago Cubs took one of the most coveted free agents off the board, by agreeing to a deal with free-agent outfielder Jason Heyward.

Below is a look at three of the top free agents as of Friday morning, and where they might be headed. Soler sparks interest from many teams, and the Cubs could potentially cash in on another starting pitcher or several relievers shall they choose to trade him.

His new deal calls for a $4 million salary next year and $5.5 million in each of the final two seasons. Heyward is the second major signing for the Cubs among position players, as the team agreed to a deal with Ben Zobrist this week. They had made re-signing Heyward, 26, their top off-season priority.

In addition to poaching a key player from a rival team, the Cubs are looking for Heyward to fill the void left by the departure of centerfielder Dexter Fowler.

“A person familiar with the Cardinals’ thinking indicated that they will heavily pursue Kansas City Royals left fielder Alex Gordon, who figures to command about half the years and dollars as Heyward”.

Heyward finished his first season in St. Louis with 13 homers, 60 RBIs and a. 293 average, helping the Cardinals to the NL Central title and the best record in baseball in 2015 at 100-62.

The Cubs went into the offseason talking about adding to their rotation, but their main focus obviously was on Jason Heyward.

ASTROS: Tony Sipp agreed to an $18 million, three-year contract to remain with Houston. He was the National League’s Gold Glove Award-winner in right field. Forget about the money from the Wrigley Field renovation or the TV deal kicking in; the Cubs are acting like an organization planning on a payoff sooner rather than later.

Chicago also signed Zobrist to a four-year, $56 million contract and traded Starlin Castro to the Yankees for Warren.

After years and years of futility, the Cubs advanced to the NL Championship last season, and with a core that includes such star-studded youngsters as Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber and Jake Arrieta are only expected to keep building.