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Well, it appears the 24-hour dream of the Washington Nationals signing Jason Heyward has come to an end. It was fun while it lasted, but the much sought-after 26-year-old outfielder has apparently decided to sign with the Chicago Cubs, joining utility man Ben Zobrist in spurning the Nats for the Cubbies.
The Nationals, however, according to CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman, did in fact make a Mark Teixeira-before-he-signed-with-the-Yankees-like effort to add the Gold Glove-winning former Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals' outfielder to their lineup:
Belief is that nats offered about $200M (maybe exactly $200M), yet doesn't look like it'll be them. That's a big try here.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 11, 2015
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times was first (or at least the first we saw) with the news that Heyward picked the Cubs as his new team:
Multiple sources indicate Heyward has indeed chosen Cubs over Cards, Nats.
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) December 11, 2015
The news has since been confirmed by a number of sources:
Source: Heyward to #Cubs. First reported: @GDubCub
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 11, 2015
Cubs get heyward
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 11, 2015
So where do the Nationals and GM Mike Rizzo turn now? The Cardinals, who were also considered finalists for Heyward, are reportedly turning their attention to soon-to-be-former Kansas City Royals' outfielder Alex Gordon:
The #Stlcards now have sights set on Alex Gordon and plan to aggressively pursue him now that they're out on Heyward.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 11, 2015
Where will the Nationals find the left-handed bat they're rumored to be after this winter and... man the Cubs are one impressive team on paper right now... and they were pretty impressive before they started adding all the pieces they have already this winter. What will Mike Rizzo and Co. in D.C. do next? They'll be an opportunity to ask him tomorrow at NatsWinterFest...