A Look At The Absurd Amount Of Money The Cubs Will Likely Pay Jason Heyward Not To Play For Them

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The Jason Heyward era in Chicago will soon be coming to a close as the Cubs are set to release him at the conclusion of the season. This means the Cubs will be on the hook to pay him a large sum of money not to play for them next season.

Jed Hoyer, the Cubs' president of baseball operations, has explained he and Heyward have discussed the situation at length, but it's simply time to move on.


“He doesn’t like it but certainly understands where we are,” Hoyer told the Chicago Tribune. “I think it’s been a frustrating last year and a half, with a lot of the guys that were a big part of why he signed here have been traded away. And so it kind of made sense for both of us and we’ve talked through it and we’re in a good place.”

(Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)



This certainly isn't the first, nor will it be the last contract situation we see like this. This sort of scenario unfolds semi-frequently when we're talking about lengthy contracts for aging players, especially in MLB.

Heyward was hitting just .204 this season before suffering a knee injury that'll likely keep him in the dugout for the remainder of the season. He was a vital player during the Cubs' World Series run in 2016 but hasn't been as consistent at the plate as Chicago fans and management would have liked during his time in the Windy City.

The Cubs currently sit third in the NL Central and 15.5 games back in the Wild Card.





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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.