On Wednesday, it looked as if Dexter Fowler was going to be a Baltimore Oriole in 2016. Things have changed, however, as the outfielder has agreed to a deal with the team he played for in 2015, the Chicago Cubs, the team formally announced on Thursday. The deal is for one year with a mutual option for 2017 that almost certainly will not be exercised, allowing Fowler to hit free agency again after one season.
Fowler hit .250/.346/.411 for the Cubs last year with 17 home runs and 20 stolen bases. With the move, the rich get richer, as this move likely drops one of Kyle Schwarber or more likely Jorge Soler to the bench. Their depth is extremely impressive, and they’ve probably had the best offseason of any team in baseball.
What happened with the Orioles? On Tuesday evening, it was reported that Fowler and the Orioles had an agreement in the 3 year, $35 million range. Both Fowler and the Orioles denied that there was a deal in place, but that he did have a three year offer. According to WSCR’s Bruce Levine, talks with Baltimore stalled when Fowler insisted on an opt-out after a year, and the Orioles, according to Jon Heyman, were unwilling to do so, as that would mean parting with a first round draft pick for a year of Fowler.
It’s not quite DeAndre Jordan and the Mavericks – by all accounts, reports of an agreement were premature – but it’s still a rather surprising and abrupt about face based on what was being reported.
