3 reasons the Chicago Cubs won’t spend big in free agency

Chicago Cubs: Jason Heyward’s contract is doing the team no favors

Jason Heyward will always have a place in Chicago Cubs history for his potentially season-saving rain delay speech during Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. He’s had some big moments and jaw-dropping defensive plays, to be sure. But there’s no arguing against the weight his contract has been on this team.

Even now, Chicago is looking at two more years on his record seven-year, $184 million deal at the cost of $22 million annually. Without that on the books, one can easily make the case the front office might have had the ability to spend very differently following the 2016 season. But hindsight is 20/20 and there’s not much you can do about it now.

I’m not saying Heyward’s deal will literally stop Hoyer from shelling out a high-value contract, but I do think it’ll give him pause if he’s trying to land a B-lister outside of the Carlos Correas and Corey Seagers of the world. He’s going to do everything in his power to avoid handcuffing himself with another bloated contract that could hurt the Cubs down the road.

Waiting until next winter, when you have just one more year of Heyward on the books could be when he decides to strike it big and look to make some noise in free agency. That $44 million is a big chunk of change and could be a factor this offseason.