Jason Heyward Responds to Calls For Release

The Chicago Cubs had high hopes for veteran outfielder Jason Heyward when they inked him to an eight-year, $184 million deal in December 2015. Unfortunately, he's largely failed to live up to expectations and is currently on pace for the worst season of his career.

Unsurprisingly, Cubs fans have been calling for Heyward's release throughout the 2022 MLB campaign. It doesn't bother the 32-year-old, though, who told NBC Sports' Gordon Wittenmyer that he takes those negative comments "with a grain of salt."

Jason Heyward Cubs

Heyward knows that social media can be a toxic place and does his best to avoid Twitter. He acknowledges that fans have the right to be upset by how a player performs, but, at the same time, most don't understand what goes on behind the scenes when it comes to running an MLB club.

"It’s people in leadership that make moves, that have to make decisions, that have to write the checks, that have to cut people, whatever: Those are the ones that are leading the charge of what people think."

- Jason Heyward

The five-time Gold Glove winner has struggled across the board this season, batting a career-low .204 while recording just one home run and 10 RBIs in 48 games (137 at-bats). His 21.2% strikeout percentage is also noticeably above his career average (17.6%).

At the end of the day, Heyward said that he's not going to take anything he does for granted. He knows that his MLB career could come to an end at a moment's notice and that he's going to continue "playing the game, enjoying what I can with the people around me"

Including the 2022 campaign, the veteran outfielder has two years remaining on his mega-deal. Hopefully, he can end his time in Chicago on a high note and, more importantly, on his own terms.

Cubs vs Cardinals Odds (June 25)

Heyward has another chance to turn his season around when the Cubs visit the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. Unfortunately, it could be a long day as FanDuel Sportsbook has Chicago as the +172 underdog on the moneyline, with St. Louis favored at -205.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.