5 underperforming Chicago Cubs who need to improve to stick around

Five Chicago Cubs that need to get it together – #4: Jason Heyward

For starters to give him the respect he does deserve, Jason Heyward is one of the finest defenders I’ve ever seen. He brings motivation and a determination to win, most famous for his rain delay speech in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.

To be fair, Heyward hasn’t been as bad as it seems but is struggling mightily this year with a slash of .210/.279/.330. Though it may not seem like it, he actually had productive years at the plate in the past three years, batting .265 in 2020, .251 in 2019 and .270 in 2018. Heyward has a tendency to either be ice cold or white hot. This year unfortunately, it’s been mostly ice cold.

Though he has actually been rolling lately, going eight for his last 16, he is still well off the mark of earning a team-high $21 million this year. That’s the main issue with Heyward here, others are underperforming as well, but the veteran’s contract severely hinders the Cubs’ payroll when he doesn’t play to the standard he set with St. Louis where he batted .293/.359/.439.

Moving Heyward’s contract has proved nearly impossible and you won’t find a team looking to take on that sort of deal for the underperforming numbers he has provided. Though he is a five-time Gold Glover, Heyward needs to get back to around that .250-.270 range for his contract to at all be worth it for the Cubs front office.