I wonder how much the Heyward deal weighs on their mind when they think of big FA contracts. Obviously, that didn’t work out as anyone had hoped (though it’s hard to complain when you win a World Series with him).
hardest part of the Heyward saga is that there were so many seemingly good things around it: he was younger than most stars who hit free agency, he hadn’t seemed to maximize his talent yet, he was an all around good ball player. And then he came in and collapsed as a hitter his first year and slowly built himself back up but never played at the level you wa fed or expected. That kind of thing can scar a weak-willed ownership,