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Is the Jason Heyward trade rumor too good to be true? Well, from the start it certainly looked like it was and now there’s a little more clarity.
It started with a few tweets in late October, connecting the Cubs to the San Francisco Giants and earlier this week MLB.com’s Phil Rogers reported the same.
From the Cubs perspective it makes sense, as the Cubs could get out of Heyward’s contract and pick up a closer in Mark Melancon and a starter in Jeff Samardzija. Yeah, then you lose a gold glove defender in right field, but that would open up room for, you know, Bryce Harper next offseason.
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However, as we’ve talked about from the start, there are so many hurdles to get over for this trade to get done. All three players rumored in the deal have no-trade clauses in their contracts and even if they would accept the deals, would the Cubs and Giants then also agree on the value because of the money involved?
Well, Alex Pavlovic, who covers the Giants for NBC Sports Bay Area, confirms what almost everyone has been thinking. This trade just doesn’t make sense for the Giants.
Giants people seem as baffled by Heyward/Cubs rumor as the rest of us. Zero chance of that deal. Welcome to the offseason.
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) November 8, 2017
Just think about Heyward accepting the trade, leaving the Cubs who are still positioned to be in the postseason for several more years and compete for a World Series, to the rebuilding or semi-rebuilding Giants? It doesn’t add up.
OK, so the following is going to be me trying really hard to find any reason for Heyward to agree to this trade. Again, I don’t believe it, but it’s the offseason, rumors are flying, it’s fun to speculate.
One, Heyward has a World Series ring, he has a championship and doesn’t need to chase one. No matter what, he’s getting paid, so maybe he’s looking for a new challenge? Two, maybe Heyward feels miserable and wants to have a fresh start?
I don’t know. He’s hit extremely well at AT&T Park, but is that enough to convince him to go to the Giants from the Cubs? I just don’t see it happening.
