After spending parts of 16 seasons in the majors, outfielder Jason Heyward is calling it a career. The five-time Gold Glove winner and 2016 World Series champion announced the end of his playing career this morning in an appearance on MLB Network (video link).
“After 16 major league seasons, I’m going to announce my retirement,” Heyward said. “I’m glad and happy to be stepping to the other side of the game. I look forward to being a potential mentor to any of the young players coming up — anybody that’s in the game right now. I feel like the game is in good hands. I look forward to being a fan and seeing what other ways I can give back. … Thank you to everybody that’s been there to support [me]. The fans, teammates, coaches, staff, ownership groups — thank you for allowing me to live out my dream.”
A Georgia native selected by Atlanta with the No. 14 overall draft pick back in 2007, Heyward debuted for his hometown Braves as a 20-year-old back in 2010. He entered that season ranked by Baseball America as the Game’s No. 1 overall prospect and wasted little time announcing his presence in the big leagues; with two men aboard in the first at-bat of his career, Heyward deposited a 2-0 fastball from Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano into the Braves’ bullpen and circled the bases with the first of his 186 major league home runs (video link).
Heyward hit .277/.393/.456 as a rookie and spent the next four seasons starring in his home state as a key force in the middle of the lineup. With Atlanta rebuilding in 2015 and Heyward only a year from free agency, the Braves flipped him to the Cardinals in a deal bringing young right-hander Shelby Miller to Atlanta.
That swap worked out nicely for both clubs. Heyward posted one of his best seasons with St. Louis in 2015, slashing .293/.359/.439 with elite defense. He rejected a qualifying offer following the season, and the Cardinals netted a compensatory draft pick. The Braves, meanwhile, got an All-Star season out of Miller before trading him to the D-backs for Dansby Swanson and Ender Inciarte.
Heyward went on to sign an eight-year, $184MM contract with the Cubs — a record deal for the team that still stands as the largest contract in franchise history. Though he’s credited for rallying the team during his now-infamous rain delay speech during Game 7 of the World Series, that eight-year commitment certainly didn’t pan out as the Cubs envisioned. He hit .230/.306/.325 in year one of the contract, and while his 2018-20 numbers were solid (.261/.347/.419), Heyward was released as the contract’s seventh year drew to a close. He won a pair of Gold Gloves in Chicago but batted only .245/.323/.377 in 2836 plate appearances as a Cub.
A 2023 pairing with the Dodgers brought about a resurgent season. Heyward, still playing out the eighth year of that Cubs contract (but in a different uniform) slashed .269/.340/.473 and popped 15 homers in 377 plate appearances with the Dodgers. He re-signed in L.A. but struggled, finishing the season with the Astros and eventually signing a one-year deal with the Padres ahead of the 2025 season. San Diego released him after 95 unproductive plate appearances.
Though Heyward never developed into the offensive force most expected, he finished his career with a lifetime .255/.306/.408 batting line — about four percent better than league-average production, by measure of wRC+. He swatted 186 home runs, swiped 126 bases and tallied 306 doubles, 41 triples, 879 runs scored and 730 runs batted in.
It’s often easy to understate just how excellent Heyward was with the glove. He won five Gold Gloves in his career and very arguably should have won more. He has the sixth-most Defensive Runs Saved (159) of any player at any position since the stat was introduced.
Thanks to his superlative defensive acumen, solid overall offense (looking at his career as a whole) and positive contributions on the basepaths, Heyward retires with 34.8 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs, and 41.2 WAR by Baseball-Reference’s version of the stat. Not including his draft bonus, Heyward took home more than $211MM in salary. Focusing solely on his level of performance relative to the expectations associated with his free agent contract undersells the quality of Heyward’s play throughout his 16-year career. Few players ever achieve this level of accolade and production. Congratulations to Heyward on a very fine tenure in the big leagues, and best wishes in whatever the game has in store for him in the future.
Forever a Cubs legend, even if he was never the same after joining Chicago.
100%. folks can bag on that contract all they want, and if looking at it solely in a quantitative sense, it hurt…but what he brought to the team, especially during that rain delay, can never be overstated.
He was a distinctly dreadful hitter, but the glove and baserunning gave him a floor of an average 2-win player for most of his Chicago tenure. There are certainly worse outcomes than that.
Another reason why the Crow-Armstrong extension was a shrewd move. Pete’s elite CF defense and baserunning, which are slump-proof give him a high floor
If he gets on base.
actually, No ifs.
His floor is achieved simply by elite defense and baserunning.
His ceiling is decided by hitting and on-base ability.
His worst floor is Kevin Kiermier, which is perfectly fine. Nothing wrong with having an Ed Reed-esque defender out there
Crazy he was only an All-Star in his first season.
it was all downhill from there. besides 2015. should have been in all-star in 2015.
Putting up 41.5 WAR in a career isn’t easy he definitely had a good career.
Hall of pretty, pretty, pretty good.
Two pretty’s too much.
You’ve never watched Curb Your Enthusiasm, I take it.
And in 6 years the Baseball Tonight crew will unanimously declare it a disgrace that he’s not selected into the HoF. Him and about 10 other guys. Nobody doesn’t get in.
Poster child for why defense is overrated. That is the most pedestrian 7 WAR season in history
In 2013, Chris Denorfia played a decent CF and hit decently, and put up 4.2 WAR in only 520 PAs. He was 11-0 in SBs. That really made me question how WAR values defense.
“Defense is overrated,” is a fairly myopic, unrealistic opinions.
Maybe you did not watch the last two World Series?
Maybe ohyeahdam meant in terms of WAR calculations. In terms of that, bWAR values defense more than fWAR.
Defense wins championships.
And in six more seasons Harold Baines racked up 38.8 WAR (Bref).
Of all the bad press and things you can say about Jerry Reinsdorf, him basically holding the door and walking Harold to the Hall of Fame mic is the biggest travesty. He and his cronies and sidekicks totally lowered the bar with that vote.
A great player in his prime, a steadying presence in the clubhouse, and a good man who’s helped kids in many communities where he played the game. Congrats on a wonderful career and all the best in whatever your next chapter may be.
Hopefully he saved a few bucks!
$200M+ total career earninings. Likely around $90M to $100M in cash to him.
A lot of players tend to live in lower cost areas where they can buy a mega mansion for the cost of a bungalow in Los Angeles, etc. and often they have solid financial management helping them invest long term, so I am sure Heyward is doing fine and will be fine.
Heyward retiring after 16 seasons makes me feel old, haha. I didn’t feel like I was *that* young when he debuted and was ‘the future’ of baseball.
He got old quick. I think all the wear and tear from playing so many games at such a young age caught up to him. By the time he was 26, he played an absurd amount of games. His body was just too fragile
Great player, better person.
I remember watching his debut like it was yesterday.
We’re getting old, fellas…
I was in attendance that day he took Carlos Zambrano deep. Does not seem like 16 years have passed.
Although he didn’t perform well, I liked him on the Padres. Good dude. Good luck in your next adventure!
This guy played a lot longer then I thought he would. I still remember his rookie game with the bravo’s lots of hype. Joe Morgan was still around then an talked him up.
don’t let his mini-resurgence with LAD in 2023 go unnoticed. After several miserable campaigns with the bat he put together a decent 2023 season in Los Angeles with the Dodgers, though the subsequent 2 seasons afterwards appeared to have been the age cliff for him.
What a dynamic player when fully healthy. He resembled the stereotype of the Ferrari — unstoppable when everything is perfectly aligned. When something was just a bit off, or he wasn’t fully healthy, anybody could get him out. But man, when his body cooperated, he was a monster.
Good Luck Jason!
Congrats on retirement! It’s getting so I remember these guys whole career now. I’m guessing old too.
Good for him
Wish his tenure with the Cubs was better but s*** happens. He’ll be most known for hitting a 3 run juje off Carlos Zambrano at Turner Field and his Locker Room speech.
Solid career overall
St Louis legend
Helped to do the impossible; win a championship on the north side.
Congrats to Heyward on a solid career
Congratulations Jason Heyward! Please come to St Louis and take a certain huge, Atlanta area native, who also happens to play RF, under your arm. He needs someone he can trust.
What a career. Better than almost everyone that played the game. A legend forever, even in his short time with the Astros, he was lovable. One of my favorite players.
I’m pretty sure he has 2 WS rings. One with Chicago and one with LA in 2024.
Meh. Hr in first ever mlb at bat. Then got hit in the face on a pitch . Was never the same offensive juggernaut mlbtr point him out to be.
Heyward will forever be a part of Cubs lore for his part in the 2016 Cubs Championship team. His tenure with the Cubs wasn’t great as far as offense goes, but even when he was being blasted for his poor offense, he never lashed out and owned up to his performance. Congrats on a great career and maybe he can be a coach considering his great personality.
One of the most overrated players of the last 20 yrs.
Heck of a player and an even better person.
Not sure how this guy got a paycheck for the past several years. Didn’t have over 40 RBIs since before 2020.
Surprised the Angels didn’t try to sign him this off-season.
Angels are maxed out on injury prone players
He was damn good one-season playing for the Dodgers. Obviously a terrific influence on the other players. If he didn’t pan out on a long term contract with the Cubs that contract sure worked out for the Dodgers. The Cubs paid for that one damn good Dodgers season.
16 years!
Congrats on a great career. Good luck coaching.
His bat retired several years ago, it finally made sense to him now.
ATL/STL got the best years and were smart not to retain him for big $$$ – never lived up to the $$$ with Cubs
Got paid and got a ring, congrats big dog
Best of luck JHey in the future! You were always a positive influence on the Braves. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️