Chicago Cubs: Pivoting to free agency in the Mock Winter Meetings

Chicago Cubs: Jon Jay returns on the cheap for depth

After trading Albert Almora and with more moves in the works in the outfield, we decided depth was key – and brought back veteran Jon Jay on a one-year, $1 million deal.

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This year, Jay split the campaign between Kansas City and Arizona and was recognized for his defensive work as a finalist for a Gold Glove. He hit .301 with the Royals, but faded badly with the Diamondbacks, hitting just .231 with a .304 OBP – a far cry from what he’s done in his career.

With the Cubs in 2017, Jay was a consummate professional. He ground through at-bats and played a great center field for Chicago.

On the year, he slashed .296/.374/.375 for his best OPS since 2014. Really, it was nothing but good things from Jay in a Cubs uniform.

Someone like Terrence Gore isn’t a viable option on a 25-man roster. He’s just not. The guy can’t hit and as much as we’d like to have that kind of speed, the combination of defense and offense Jay brings to the table was too much to pass up.

We attempted to bring back Justin Wilson on a one-year, $4 million deal, but the Pirates apparently felt good enough about the lefty to offer two years and $10 million. With Brian Duensing, Randy Rosario and Brad Hand in tow, we felt good enough to let them take that deal.

So, with just one day left in the FanSided MLB Mock Offseason, we’ve got a couple more potential moves. Be sure to check back in tomorrow morning to see how we cap off this simulation.