Per Ken Rosenthal, both the Cardinals and Nationals offered Heyward $200M. This was more about the structure of the deal, not specific dollars. The Cubs may have front loaded the deal to make it more attractive with the opt out. With their cheap, young players, they could easily afford to do that.

As to fors/chads opinion on war and heywards fielding, his value in cf is less then his value in rf....and if his value in rf is over inflated...what did the cubs really buy.  I could see heyward sticking this deal out for 8 years to.  If his fielding drops off his value declines...so unless he hits 20hrs this may be the best deal he hets

Have we gotten to the low hanging fruit phase yet, or, are we already there ?

It is hard to pick dexter folwer and Jason heywards production line out of a lineup.  Not sure how much better the cubs got.

forsberg_us wrote:

APIAD wrote:

forsberg_us wrote:

8 years, $184M.  2 different opt outs, the first after the 3rd year. 2nd opt out after year 4 with a plate appearance minimum.

Cards should have been able to match that.

I figure mo will do something. They have talked to big to drop the ball this hard. Things might get ugly again.

According to Rosenthal, the Cardinals offered more money.

Back when this thread started, I said part of me wanted to sign Heyward, and part of me didn't.  Seeing the numbers, I'm not overly disappointed.  The Cardinals apparently offered Heyward 10/$200.  A few years ago, they made almost the same offer to Albert Pujols.  Jason Heyward isn't Albert Pujols.

I dont understand why if the cards wished to sign him they didnt just match the cubs structure.

After reviewing all the options my opinion is firmly cespedes.

forsberg_us wrote:

APIAD wrote:

After reviewing all the options my opinion is firmly cespedes.

Don't hold your breath on that one. I was told 2 summers ago the team wouldn't touch him. He was perceived as a really bad clubhouse guy.

Well if that's the case then I wouldnt blame them but I think his numbers outweigh the rest.
 

Enterprise to Mo
Come in Mo
Mo ?

Looking at the 2017 free agent market I wouldnt expect much out of next off season either.  There if nothing in way of pitching and hitting is pretty bleak as well......Carlos Gomez, Jay Bruce, Jose Bautista and Adrian Beltre.  The current public position mo is taking is that he doesnt expect to make a big signing.

APIAD wrote:

It is hard to pick dexter folwer and Jason heywards production line out of a lineup. Not sure how much better the cubs got.

Significantly. Heyward strikes out less, plays better defense (even in center) and runs the bases better than Fowler. In an era of power pitchers and gratuitous strikeouts, players who put the ball in play are being more coveted. Heyward will bring a lot more balance to the high strikeout rates of Soler, Bryant, Schwarber and Russell.

The lesson to take away from the offseason is this:

The Cardinals talked a big game about extending themselves. They identified Heyward and Price as the cornerstones of the next era. They got neither of them because they were content to finish second place and pat themselves on the back for showing discipline.

I have defended the Cardinals' financial decisions a lot over the last decade or so, but this was a badly-mangled offseason. Yes, I realize it's not over, but if you finish so far behind in the bidding of the two players you really, really wanted, then you failed. Simple as that.

The good news is that the powder is dry and the low-hanging fruit is still there, just waiting to be plucked. The Cardinals get to maintain that massive payroll flexibility and contend for a wild card spot. And hey, that's all you can ask for.

This situation is so bleak I'm about to say that Max is...vindicated?

The Post-Dispatch is trying to help the Cardinals sell the narrative that the Cubs got Heyward for less, but the fact is the Cubs offered him a higher annual average and two opt-outs (which the Cardinals likely balked at). I do think part of the reason this dragged on was because Heyward was giving the Cardinals every opportunity to match or exceed the AAV ($23M) or the two opt-outs. Those opt-outs are huge because Heyward is betting on himself to make more money down the road. That was a savvy move by the Cubs. The Cardinals clearly didn't get creative enough with their offer.

Here's the thing: whether or not Heyward and his defense, baserunning and everything else about him that does or doesn't make him a $185M player is irrelevant to the fact that the Cardinals identified him as THEIR GUY and fell very short on actually making that happen. The fucking back patting this organization does when they show their "fiscal discipline" has no place in this discussion (this wasn't directed at any of you, just the Cardinals).