2016 Chicago Cubs, Where Are They Now? Part 3: The Outfield
Jason Heyward
Ken Blaze / USA TODAY Sports
By the time the calendar flipped to 2015, Atlanta Braves Jason Heyward had already been in the Big Leagues since 2010. He homered on the first pitch he ever saw, earned an All-Star nod, came in 2nd for Rookie of The Year, and grabbed two Gold Glove Awards. However, Heyward found himself on the move to St. Louis to fill the right field position after the death of Oscar Taveras. The move seemed positive, hitting a career-high at .293 with 13 home runs, and 60 RBIs. The Cardinals found themselves against the resurging Chicago Cubs, who steamrolled them in four games during the NLDS. After the season, the rumor mill was churning with news about where Heyward would go. It took only a month before the answer became the Cubs, signing him to an eight-year $184 million dollar deal. Cardinals fans felt slighted as he moved to their rivals and was quoted in say,
“Knowing the core is young and those guys are going to be around for a while is very exciting,”
When he returned to St. Louis in April, instead of a boom of cheers, he was greeted with a shower of boos. Even Heyward was caught off guard, taking his helmet off, almost expecting an ovation, but not this time.
For Heyward, he had the worst full season of his career. His batting average fell to .230, hitting only seven home runs and grabbing only 49 RBIs. His WAR fell from an astounding 5.6 to a dismal 0.7. In fact, his first home run did not come until May 17. He wasn’t a factor for most of the Chicago Cubs’ run to the Postseason. His lone moment came in Game 4 of the NLDS where he attempted to bunt Willson Contreras to second base, but ended up second base himself after a bad throw for a double play attempt. He later came around to score the go-ahead run.
However, it was what he did off the field that gave the most impact. The folklore goes that during Game Seven of the 2016 World Series, the game was put in a brief rain delay during the 10th inning, and Heyward called a players-only meeting. Here’s a portion of what he said,
“We’re the best team in baseball, and we’re the best team in baseball for a reason, Now we’re going to show it. We play like the score is nothing-nothing. We’ve got to stay positive and fight for your brothers. Stick together and we’re going to win this game.”
Despite being but a footnote in this season, Heyward’s words inspired the Cubs to rally for two runs in the top of the tenth and held on for the World Series winner.
The Cubs looked high going into 2017, but Heyward only slightly improved, with a .259 average with 11 home runs and 59 RBIs. In seven years with the Cubs, he hit only .245 with 62 home runs and 289 RBIs. His time came to an end in 2022 after a June 24 game ironically against the St. Louis Cardinals. He was on the IL for the rest of the year and was released after the World Series. It’s sad to say he never lived up to his contract.
Now, he has switched up from Cubs Blue to Dodger Blue, currently hitting .250 with 11 home runs and 29 RBIs.
While his most memorable moment will be the meeting back in 2016, there is one moment from 2018 that I’m sure Cubs fans will remember.
Kyle Schwarber
Tommy Gilligan - USA TODAY Sports
Kyle Schwarber was looking to be a cornerstone for the Chicago Cubs going into the 2016 season. The previous season he hit 16 Home runs, 43 RBIs with a .246 average in 69 games. Famously during the NLDS versus the St. Louis Cardinals, he hit a ball off reliever Kevin Siegrist that looked to exit Wrigley Field but was later found on top of the Right Field Scoreboard. It was later encased in glass on the spot it was found.
Unfortunately for the Cubs, they were swept by the New York Mets in the NLCS, sending them packing, still looking for that World Series Appearance.
The following year, Schwarber found himself on the Opening Day lineup versus the Los Angeles Angels going 0-4 in the contest. He wouldn’t be on the field again until April 7th against the Arizona Diamondbacks, then the uncanny acts of baseball struck down upon Schwarber.
It was later determined that he tore both his ACL and LCL ligaments in his left knee, putting him on the IL for the remainder of the season, with little to no hope of seeing another game again that year. All Kyle could do for the next few months was rest while he watched his team rise to the top of the baseball world. There were even rumors that he would be traded at the deadline, but Cubs Club President Theo Epstein had faith in Schwarber and kept him in Chicago. Ironically, his name was discussed in a trade for Aroldis Chapman, but the Cubs replaced him with Gleyber Torres instead.
By October, Schwarber was still walking with a limp by the time the NLCS rolled around. Yet on October 22nd, Schwarber came up to bat for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Fall League. He batted second and went 0-3 with a walk. Two days later, he found himself on the roster for the World Series.
In Game One of the World Series, Schwarber came up for his second at bat against Corey Kluber and did this.
Nearly fairytale-esque as Schwarber nearly hit a home run but settled for a double off the wall.
The following night he outdid himself, getting two RBI singles to help the Cubs tie the series at one game a piece. However, when they went back to Chicago, Schwarber was not cleared to play in the field, so was regulated to one pinch hit at bat.
After a 1-4 night in Game 6, it was time for the Series Finale in Game 7, and it was the best of his career.
In the first, he was able to run out an infield single, then stole second base, all with his repaired knee.
In the third, he got another base hit past the shift for another single, though was thrown out going for second base.
He remained hitless for the rest of the game, until the top of the tenth. He was the leadoff man for the Cubs who just blew the lead two innings earlier. A man whose season started with a blown-out knee now had the weight of 108 years on his shoulders, and what does he do? Gets a base hit past the shift for another hit, his third of the game. He was lifted for pinch runner Albert Almora Jr and as you can say the rest is history.
Kyle Schwarber ended with a ring on his finger, a .412 batting average with two RBIs mixed in. Not bad for a man whose season was lost so quickly.
Over the next few seasons, Schwarber found himself as a power hitter, hitting 105 home runs between 2017 and 2020. However, his average was .229 during that time period, so the decision was made to Non-Tender him on December 2nd, 2020. He quickly signed with the Washington Nationals and had the best season of his career. In the first half, he hit .266 with 25 home runs and 53 RBIs before being traded to the Boston Red Sox. His pace slowed, hitting only seven home runs and 18 RBIs, but hitting .291, helping the Red Sox to the postseason. All told he hit 32 home runs with 71 RBIs with a .266 batting average. This lead him to sign a 4 year 79 million dollar deal with the Philadelphia Phillies and led them to the 2022 World Series.
When all is said and done, Kyle Schwarber became a folk hero for the Chicago Cubs and will forever be remembered for his work ethic to be back for the biggest series in Chicago Cubs history.
Jorge Soler
Rich Schultz/Getty Images
Some might forget that Jorge Soler was a Chicago Cubs prospect before his heroic efforts during the 2021 Postseason for the Atlanta Braves. In 2012 he signed a nine-year $30 million dollar deal and it took until 2014 before he was called up. Between his stints from 2014 and 2015, he hit .268 with 15 home runs and 67 RBIs. In the 2015 postseason, he hit .474 in seven games with three home runs.
In 2016, his playing time was reduced from 101 games to 86 due to injuries. As a result, his stats leveled to 12 home runs, 31 RBIs with an average of .238. He still found himself on the roster for that year’s postseason, but his bat was nowhere to be found. Mainly as a pinch hitter, he remained hitless until Game 3 of the World Series, grabbing two hits and a triple.
After the season, he was traded from the Cubs to the Kansas City Royals for Wade Davis. His next two years were mediocre to say the least. Injures held him back for the majority of the time, all the while watching his former team continue their postseason trends, though never reaching the pinnacle again.
It was in 2019 that Soler went off, playing all 162 games that season, he hit 48 home runs, with 117 RBIs though with a low average of .265 and striking out 178 times, the most that year. He placed 17th in MVP voting that year After the 2020 season, he saw his playing abilities lowered again, hitting 13 home runs and 37 RBIs, with an average of .192. Yet at the trade deadline, the Atlanta Braves needed outfielders so took a chance on the free agent to be, and what a trade it turned out to be. While the stats remained nearly the same at 14 home runs and 33 RBIs, his average for the Braves was .269.
In the Postseason, his hitting woes continued until Game One of the World Series. He was the leadoff hitter for the Braves versus Framber Valdez and the Houston Astros, when on a 2-0 count, he did this.
He added another hit in the eighth that set up a sacrifice fly from Freddie Freeman.
The following night he hit a double and went hitless in Game 3.
In Game 4, he pinched hit in the seventh, with the game tied at 2, when a familiar sight occurred.
He got a hit the following night, then in Game 7, he came up with two runners on with 2 outs against Luis Garcia. He batted to a 3-2 count and put the city of Atlanta on his back.
He later walked and scored on a Freddie Freeman double in the fifth. Four innings later, The Braves won their second Championship. Soler hit .300 in the Fall Classic with 3 home runs and 6 RBIs, earning him World Series MVP.
In the offseason he signed with the Miami Marlins, and in his first game back in Atlanta, he was given a hero’s welcome.
During the first two seasons of the deal, he hasn’t lived up to the historic highs of that postseason. His average is at .228 with 45 home runs and 101 RBIs. A 2023 resurgence has given him 32 home runs and 67 RBIs with his first All-Star Nod at this time of writing this article.
For his career, Jorge Soler has helped two teams overcome years of turmoil to raise a pennant over their stadiums, and the 31-year-old will look to help the Marlins reach the green grass of postseason baseball.
