Cubs parting ways with notable core player at end of season

Mar 10, 2020; Scottsdale, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs manager David Ross looks on during a spring training game against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs have largely moved on from the core of players who won the World Series in 2016. On Monday, the team announced that another big part of that team will be departing at the end of the season.

Cubs GM Jed Hoyer announced that the team will mutually part ways with outfielder Jason Heyward at the end of the season. Heyward, who is unlikely to play again in 2022 due to a knee issue, wants to play in 2023. The Cubs will give him an entire offseason to find a new club.

Hoyer and Heyward have discussed it at length. Just time to move on and Cubs want to give AB’s to others. Heyward indicated to Jed that he wants to keep playing and they’ll let him look for a team this offseason. https://t.co/XaYE8bY7M9

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) August 8, 2022

Heyward is due $22 million next season, the final year of the eight-year deal he signed with the team prior to the 2016 campaign. The Cubs will apparently just pay that off and let Heyward walk.

Heyward’s offensive numbers were middling during his Cubs tenure, but he was renowned as an excellent leader and defender. Players credited one of his major off-field actions as a key part of the Cubs’ win in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.

With Heyward on the way out and Willson Contreras facing free agency, pitcher Kyle Hendricks may be the only remaining piece of that 2016 on the team’s roster in 2023.