Another big name in free agency is joining the Chicago Cubs as outfielder Jayson Heyward agreed to an eight-year deal with the club which was reportedly worth $184 million.
According to ESPN, Heyward has two opt out options and it will be either after the third or fourth year of the pact.
The report added that Heyward chose to play for less money by joining the Cubs since the St. Louis Cardinals, the club he played for last season, and the Washington Nationals both offered him $200 million.
In his first year with the Cardinals in the 2015 season, Heyward arguably was the club's best player, hitting .293 as well as having 13 home runs and 60 runs batted in (RBI) in 154 games played.
Heyward helped the Cardinals to the best regular season record in Major League Baseball (MLB) last season at 100–62. Unfortunately they lost to the Cubs in the National League Divisional Series (NLDS), 3–1.
The 26-year-old outfielder is an All-Star in the 2010 season and won the Golden Glove award three times in the 2012, 2014, and 2015 seasons.
Heyward's addition to the Cubs is another activity in the already busy offseason for the club which already signed a number of names in free agency and also made some trade moves.
Before the arrival of Heyward, Chicago signed infielder Ben Zobrist last week to a four-year, $56 million contract, after trading shortstop Starlin Castro to the New York Yankees for pitcher Adam Warren and infielder Brendan Ryan.
The Cubs also added starting pitcher John Lackey, who also played last season with the Cardinals, to a two-year contract that will earn him $32 million.
According to ESPN, the transfer of Heyward and Lackey marks the first time that "multiple" free agents from the Cardinals join Chicago in free agency.
Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated mentioned in their report that after landing significant names already, the Cubs are not stopping and will continue to look for free agents this offseason.
