Fowler says he will be free agent

[Omeletpants]

I listened to a MLB scout that said Heyward had the worst mechanics in baseball. He showed no signs of fixing that. He is also a willful and stubborn hitter that refuses to go with the pitch and tries to pull everything

 

[DanTown]

Fowler will be 31 starting next year and is coming off a 4.7 fWAR season.

Alex Gordon was 32 to start this year and was coming off a 2.7 fWAR season and he got $18mil per.

Ben Zobrist was 34 to start this year and was coming off a 2.0 fWAR season and he got $14mil per.

Any argument that Fowler's "advanced" age is going to result in him accepting a deal in the 11-14mil AAV range is simply incoherent. That is wish-thinking.

Gordon's previous four years: 6.6, 5.5, 3.7, 6.4. His 2.7 was also missing a third of the year.
Zobrist's previous four years: 6.3, 5.8, 5.5, 5.0

Fowler's previous four years: 2.3, 2.2, 1.5, 3.3

I think the problem with Dexter is that teams are going to be nervous that he benefits from playing in a very deep lineup and that he might not be able to replicate what he does somewhere else. I mean he probably peaks as a three win player and the problem with three win players is you can typically find one to two win players for low cost or pay the 5+ win guys 20 million so the middle of the market becomes a risk.

He'll get money this year because someone will take the chance but I think he's looking at 4/60 or 5/75 type deals as a max. The other thing is Fowler has had issues being a guy who plays a lot. He's only had one year of 600 PA.

 

[JaySix]

I listened to a MLB scout that said Heyward had the worst mechanics in baseball. He showed no signs of fixing that. He is also a willful and stubborn hitter that refuses to go with the pitch and tries to pull everything

While that might all be true and we can all see that he is horrible at this point, this last season for him makes no sense looking at his statistics over 3,000abs and 6 seasons before this one...

his hitting took a nose dive and the only differences are the ballpark (hitter friendly), the team (great offense which should help) and a 180M contract....


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[Omeletpants]

While that might all be true and we can all see that he is horrible at this point, this last season for him makes no sense looking at his statistics over 3,000abs and 6 seasons before this one...

his hitting took a nose dive and the only differences are the ballpark (hitter friendly), the team (great offense which should help) and a 180M contract....


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Those difference should have helped him not hurt him

 

[fatbeard]

I listened to a MLB scout that said Heyward had the worst mechanics in baseball. He showed no signs of fixing that. He is also a willful and stubborn hitter that refuses to go with the pitch and tries to pull everything

The Cubs and Heyward spent half the season trying to fix his swing, but it was too difficult to do in the middle of the season. Is it too much to ask that you not go "Captain Ahab" on every single post related to Heyward?

 

[JaySix]

Those difference should have helped him not hurt him

That was my point (quite obviously), the first 2 should have, the last one... well




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[Omeletpants]

The Cubs and Heyward spent half the season trying to fix his swing, but it was too difficult to do in the middle of the season. Is it too much to ask that you not go "Captain Ahab" on every single post related to Heyward?

Just stating facts. I'm willing to give him a fresh start next season, but until then he sucks

 

[Doubledown]

Dexter "was going to get big money" before this season right? Ha cubs are already losing Ross, if you want to remain strong up the middle, why the hell not sign a WS champ?

Sign Fowler, keep Chicago great.

 

[anotheridiot]

Wow, both sides knew that the cubs giving dexter the 15.6 million qualifying offer last year was what hurt his chances to get more action from other teams last off season since the signing team would need to give up a compensatory pick. I thought it was understood they would not do that again.

Well, they did it again, Dexter has a week to get a long term deal or sign for the 17.2 and reclog the outfield.

 

[anotheridiot]

The Cubs and Heyward spent half the season trying to fix his swing, but it was too difficult to do in the middle of the season. Is it too much to ask that you not go "Captain Ahab" on every single post related to Heyward?

I dont think anyone tried to fix his swing this year. The plan was always to fix it in the offseason so it did not get worse.

You gotta remember. part of Heywards problem was getting hit in the face and its gonna take a while to lose that flinch each time the ball is thrown. He has too many flinches as it is.

 

[fatbeard]

Wow, both sides knew that the cubs giving dexter the 15.6 million qualifying offer last year was what hurt his chances to get more action from other teams last off season since the signing team would need to give up a compensatory pick. I thought it was understood they would not do that again.

Well, they did it again, Dexter has a week to get a long term deal or sign for the 17.2 and reclog the outfield.

This year's OF market is worse than 2015. Fowler is going to be in demand.

I dont think anyone tried to fix his swing this year. The plan was always to fix it in the offseason so it did not get worse.

That's simply not the case. It's been widely reported they've been working on Heyward's swing all year, as early as ST.

You gotta remember. part of Heywards problem was getting hit in the face and its gonna take a while to lose that flinch each time the ball is thrown. He has too many flinches as it is.

You are making things up.

 

[DJMoore_is_fat]

Losing Fowler will hurt next season but offensively we will be getting a huge boost from Schwarber. I still think the best way to fill the lose of Fowler is put Heyward in CF, Zobrist in RF and Schwarber in LF. Almora can play CF too, moving Heyward to his best position (RF).

I think we'll be fine for next year. Just need to make sure we have our pitching taken care of. I think Rondon and Strop are capable of having bounce back years if they come into ST healthy.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

That's simply not the case. It's been widely reported they've been working on Heyward's swing all year, as early as ST.

Yep, that's absolutely correct. They did a lot of work in the offseason including Heyward working with Mallee before ST. If you look at his early AB from ST, I think you can find a few on YouTube still, his swing was noticeably different from what we saw later. I think the wrist injury pretty much destroyed all of the work he had put in and in attempting to go back to his natural, already flawed swing he just got plain lost. This guy is 26 years old, has an incredible work ethic and is considered one of the really good character guy in the sport. I'm not only rooting for him, I truly believe he'll bounce back strong.

 

[Parade_Rain]

I listened to a MLB scout that said Heyward had the worst mechanics in baseball.

Was the MLB scout's name "Captain Obvious"?

He showed no signs of fixing that. He is also a willful and stubborn hitter that refuses to go with the pitch and tries to pull everything

Many players have a defensive shift that is a dead pull.

 

[Diehardfan]

Was the MLB scout's name "Captain Obvious"?

Many players have a defensive shift that is a dead pull.

You know, the numbers indicate that he hasn't always been like this. MOF, he's only had one season where he's hit as bad as he did last year. If his mechanics are so terrible, why is it just happening now? Hell, he hit .293 in 2015.

 

[Parade_Rain]

You know, the numbers indicate that he hasn't always been like this. MOF, he's only had one season where he's hit as bad as he did last year. If his mechanics are so terrible, why is it just happening now? Hell, he hit .293 in 2015.

His early arm bar causes his need to get out in front of everything. It's tough for him to stay inside the ball. The early arm bar causes the bat to be slow through the zone, which is why he gets a lot of 4-3 GIDP. He needs to load slower and earlier and his hands will get where they need to be. Lots of potential and a great guy. I don't want to sound negative. That's just a portion of what I saw this year and his mechanics have never been great. That's a known.

 

[fatbeard]

You know, the numbers indicate that he hasn't always been like this. MOF, he's only had one season where he's hit as bad as he did last year. If his mechanics are so terrible, why is it just happening now? Hell, he hit .293 in 2015.

My guess is it was a combination of things: Cubs trying to change his swing in ST, early-season wrist injury bothered him much more than he let on, he's a historical slow-starter, and self-generated pressure to perform up to big contract. The confluence of circumstances just kind of snowballed into putting him in a hole he just couldn't get out of in the middle of an MLB season.

 

[DJMoore_is_fat]

Mike Lowell had one really awful year in the middle of his career. Granted he was a bit older than Heyward (30, I believe). But that year he had a .298 OBP and couldn't hit worth a lick. The previous season his OBP was at .365. The following year he batted .284 and two years later he slashed .325/.378 with 120 RBI's. So while Heyward's sudden decline is rare -- it has happened.

Heyward will be better next year. It's just a matter of how much. He was totally broken for the majority of the year. Honestly it reminded me of Fukudome during the 2008 NLDS. Heyward's swing in 2016 and Fukudome's in 2008 were the two most broken swings I've ever seen at the major league level.

Now he's got the whole off-season to fix it. But with Fowler gone, Heyward must step up next season.

 

[anotheridiot]

Losing Fowler will hurt next season but offensively we will be getting a huge boost from Schwarber. I still think the best way to fill the lose of Fowler is put Heyward in CF, Zobrist in RF and Schwarber in LF. Almora can play CF too, moving Heyward to his best position (RF).

I think we'll be fine for next year. Just need to make sure we have our pitching taken care of. I think Rondon and Strop are capable of having bounce back years if they come into ST healthy.

The only hole Fowler leaves is the leadoff spot. Out in Colorado, Fowler was a minus outfielder. Thats a huge park. This year he took out Schwarber running into left field the first week of the season, and then collided with Soler in the playoffs in right field. Wrigley was the perfect fit for him to look like a gold glove defender. I think thats the biggest thing holding GM's in need of a center fielder back.

 

[Parade_Rain]

You know, the numbers indicate that he hasn't always been like this. MOF, he's only had one season where he's hit as bad as he did last year. If his mechanics are so terrible, why is it just happening now? Hell, he hit .293 in 2015.

I think fatbeard nailed it. He put a lot of pressure on himself to perform to his contract. I don't know if he will match .293, but I am certain he will work hard to fix what is wrong and he will have a better year at the dish next season.