Jason Heyward fired up by lower expectations for the Cubs

Expectations are low for the Chicago Cubs this year, but outfielder Jason Heyward is ready to embrace it.

The Chicago Cubs won the NL Central last year, but then they exited the postseason early with a 2-0 Wild Card Series sweep by the Miami Marlins. Trades happened this offseason (Yu Darvish) and trade rumors are still out there (Kris Bryant), as the Cubs come through on the notion of shedding payroll.

One of the bigger names, and bigger contracts, the Cubs still have belongs to outfielder Jason Heyward. Moving him, and shedding the three years and $65 million in salary he’s still due, is not going to be easy. Apart from the money for the production Hayward has put up, he’s also got a no-trade clause. So for lack of a better term, Heyward and the Cubs are stuck with each other.

Jason Heyward is fired up by Cubs low expectations

It’s no secret the Cubs are not expected to do much this year, as the St. Louis Cardinals seem to be the only team who wants to win the NL Central. But Heyward is ready to embrace lower outside expectations, which hasn’t been the case for the Cubs for quite a while.

Expectations are certainly lower than they’ve been since Heyward signed before the 2016 season. PECOTA has projected the Cubs for 85 wins (second place in the division), and FanGraphs has put the Cubs in fourth place with 79 projected wins.

Heyward is absolutely right about preseason predictions not mattering, and they can even be a source of motivation. The Cubs aren’t devoid of talent, with Bryant, Javier Baez, Willson Contreras and Ian Happ still around. Free agent signing Joc Pederson is easy to see as an upgrade over Kyle Schwarber in left field. The starting rotation has had a lot of turnover, but Darvish stands as the most notable loss.

Heyward, spurred by his salary, clearly has not delivered to expectations in his five seasons as a Cub. But 2021 is a new year for him, and it’s a new year with a different level of outside expectations for his team.