Jason Heyward is among the many soon-to-be premiere free-agent outfielders. He's expected to command a big contract after a good season with the St. Louis Cardinals, but will the team be able to re-sign him once he hits the open market?
Earlier this month general manager John Mozeliak said any contract talks involving Heyward would likely have to wait until the offseason. The 26-year-old outfielder will be garnering much interest from around the MLB due to his consistency at the plate and stellar defense in right field.
However, the initial rumors are likely to focus on St. Louis because they'll have first dibs on him once the offseason rolls around.
"There's no reason to believe the Cardinals won't make a sincere effort to re-sign him, but they'll have competition," writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. "Heyward is a nice player, but one with a sub-.800 OPS and only 12 homers. He owns a 5.4 WAR, and an outfield defensive WAR at 1.3. What's he worth? He turned 26 last month so five years, $100 million isn't out of the realm of possibility. But is he all that? The Yankees, Angels, Cardinals, Mets, Indians, Mariners, and Giants could be suitors."
On top of the competition from outside the organization, let's not forget other top outfielders such as Yoenis Cespedes, Justin Upton and Alex Gordon will be available. Cespedes, who is seeking a six-year contract, could command up to $175 million, which would drastically shift the landscape of this class of free-agent outfielders. Cespedes will turn 30 in October and Heyward turned 26 just over a month ago, so it's not crazy to think the youngster could definitely get a deal longer than five years and in excess of $100 million.
So the Cardinals have three things going against them: Heyward is likely hitting free agency, there will be competition with other MLB clubs and his value is expected to increase as a result of the demand for productive outfielders.
And here's another thing to consider: the Cardinals may not re-sign Heyward if his potential contract is expected to exceed that of Matt Holliday's seven-year, $120 million deal, which was the biggest in franchise history.
While Heyward is a solid offensive player, he has yet to come close to matching his 2012 campaign when he batted .269/.335/.479 with 93 runs scored, 27 home runs, 82 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. He's slashing .290/.352/.438 with 73 runs scored, 12 home runs, 56 RBIs and 22 stolen bases this year.
Additionally, the Cardinals have good outfield depth with Holliday, Jon Jay, Tommy Pham and rookies Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk (who both figure to be a big part of the team's future). They also have a couple of outfield prospects that are among the best in their farm system.
Instead of re-signing Heyward to a huge deal, the Cardinals could use that money elsewhere (perhaps the starting rotation), considering John Lackey will become a free agent and the team may not pick up Jaime Garcia's option for 2016 due to his lengthy injury history.
All is well for the MLB's best club right now, but changes are likely to come in the offseason and Heyward is the top name we'll be hearing about.
