Cubs sign Jason Heyward, have makings of monster

Jason Heyward chose the Chicago Cubs chose over returning to the St. Louis Cardinals and has agreed to terms on an 8-year, $184 million deal.

The agreement with Heyward, 26, a three-time Gold Glove outfielder who is a lifetime.

Heyward has played mostly in rightfield, but barring another move, the Cubs might slot him in centerfield, which he has played in the past.

Heyward’s signing continues a busy early December for the Cubs.

Contract details have not been revealed, but Heyward was the top free agent outfielder on the market, and the Cubs had to compete with numerous teams, including the Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, to land his services.

According to Peter Gammons, the deal also has two opt outs, though, where they are in the life of the contract was not specified.

Madson has a $22 million, three-year contract while closer Axford received a $10 million, two-year deal. This is the Cubs making a bold baseball move that reflects the marketplace as much as their urgency.

The Cubs were not the highest bidder for Heyward, according to reports. It wasn’t enough, though, as the need for more pitching and better defense at certain positions became apparent even in a 97-win season.

Heyward is a career.268/.353/.431 hitter in six major-league seasons. In the past eight days they’ve acquired free agents John Lackey and second basemen, Ben Zobrist, while adding depth to their rotation with the acquisition of pitcher Adam Warren from the New York Yankees for shortstop, Starlin Castro. He hit.293, with 13 homers and 60 RBIs and stole 20 bases. Both the Cardinals and the Nationals had a $200 million offer waiting, but not for the first time, it seems the Cubs are offering something to players money can’t buy.

At just 26 years old, Heyward has arguably the most potential of any of the free agents in this year’s class.

The No. 14 pick in the 2007 MLB Draft and subsequent rookie of the year runner-up to San Francisco’s Buster Olney, Heyward is expected to play center for the Cubs. For that reason, it’s hard to draw definite conclusions about the fantasy impact of the Heyward signing … but with this lineup, it sure is fun to try.