Jason Heyward, a notorious slow starter throughout his big league career, predictably started slowly in his first month with the Cubs (with no help from a balky wrist, which he first started dealing with way back in the first week of the season).
Entering the weekend set against the Pirates, Heyward owned a .216 average and .259 slugging percentage to go along with a .272 wOBA and 63 wRC+ in his first 135 plate appearances. It is the kind of woeful slump that raises eyebrows, especially after the player in said slump signed a deal that could be worth $184 million over eight seasons.
But here is the thing: Heyward isn’t the only big-money free agent signing working through an early-season slump.[adinserter block=”1″]
There were seven players who signed deals worth $100 million or more and three more who reached agreements on multi-year contracts worth at least $15 million per season. And as it turns out, a notable handful of those players have struggled early:
David Price is working through a change in his delivery as he tries to get out of his rut. The Red Sox southpaw signed a free agent deal worth $217 million, but pitched to a 6.75 ERA (which is bad) in his first seven starts, despite a 2.93 FIP and 2.94 xFIP (both of which are good) and a 29.0 K% that ranks 10th in all of baseball. Some of that’s bad luck, but some of it also appears to be genuine struggles. If (more likely, when, based on track record) Price completes a turnaround, Thursday’s performance against the Astros will likely be circled on the calendar. Price struck out 12 and walked only one batter while allowing only one run in 6.2 innings in a win.
Zack Greinke shocked the baseball world when he spurned the Dodgers and Giants for a $206.5 million deal with the Diamondbacks this offseason with absolutely no rumors in the run-up. Equally shocking is his slow start to the year. Greinke’s FIP (3.60) and xFIP (3.50) suggest better times area ahead and that 5.26 ERA will progress to a career mean, but there is still some concern. His fastball has lost a tick and it looks as if hitters are starting to get around on it more often. Complicating matters are Greinke’s struggles in his home ballpark.[adinserter block=”2″]
Tigers signee Justin Upton is on pace for his first 200-strikeout season. He entered the weekend with a .221/.257/.324 slash line, 55 wRC+, and .255 wOBA. Upton’s struggles are highlighted by a 37.5 percent strikeout rate, and magnified by a 4.9 percent walk rate. He appears to be pressing with a new team in a new league. Manager Brad Ausmus could move him from the No. 2 spot in the order, even though he didn’t seem to make such a move want to earlier this season. And just to make things that much more interesting, Upton made his first career start in center field in Thursday’s loss to the Orioles.
Mike Leake picked up his first win on Tuesday for the Cardinals against a woeful Angels lineup. Prior to that, Leake had pitched to a 6.03 ERA/5.13 FIP/4.27 xFIP. He had stranded only 56.7 percent of runners. Leake owned a lowly 14.6 K% and had been hit hard to the tune of a 35.9 percent hard-hit rate. Despite his struggles, Leake has maintained a positive outlook. So far, though, he hasn’t done much to replace what the Cardinals lost when John Lackey headed to the Cubs and Lance Lynn headed to the operating room.[adinserter block=”3″]
Alex Gordon signed the biggest contract in Royals franchise history last winter, but has yet to recapture the form that helped earn him such a payday. Gordon entered the Royals’ weekend series against the Braves with a .239 average and 30.6 percent strikeout rate. However, his on-base percentage (.351) and walk rate (11.2 BB%) and 106 wRC+ were at or above league average. If Gordon can cut his strikeout rate back to around where it was from 2013-15 (20.3 percent) it could help revive Kansas City’s offense.
Heyward has company on the early season struggle bus. But, like his fellow ballplayers working through slumps, each have either a strong track record or a set of encouraging peripherals that suggests things could get better sooner or later.
Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.
For the second straight night, the Cubs are jumping all over the Astros in the first inning. After a couple hits from Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ to get things going, Michael Busch hit a sac fly, Christopher Morel walked,...
What a road it's been - continues to be - for Cubs outfield prospect Brennen Davis. The former top prospect was on a rocket ship to Triple-A in 2021, and then mostly lost the last two years to various injuries....
So much for all those words of optimism and negative X-rays. After colliding with the outfield wall last night, Cody Bellinger fractured his rib (Update: It's actually TWO fractured right ribs) and will hit the injured list today. Chicago Cubs...
CUBS LINEUP — The Chicago Cubs took Game 1 against the Houston Astros in convincing fashion last night. So tonight, they'll go for the quick series win against Spencer Arrighetti at Wrigley Field (it'd be a good idea to win...
Ed. Note: Since this article was published, a CT scan revealed a rib fracture for Cody Bellinger, who is now on the Injured List. You can find all the details of that news in our most recent article right here....
With Cody Bellinger headed to the Injured List with a rib fracture, the Cubs are in need of another outfielder: center field prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong is coming back up to the big leagues for the second time. https://twitter.com/670TheScore/status/1783217891195625709 Crow-Armstrong, 22,...
Hey, we're just having some early-season fun. So allow me to present the 'Mike Tauchman Is Clearly Better Than' list. As of this moment, Mike Tauchman has ... ... a higher wRC+ (151) than Pete Alonso, Fernando Tatis Jr., and...
Name a player hotter than Kevin Alcántara right now. Go ahead, I'll wait. (He's already raking again today. Literally as I type this.) More on Alcántara's big day and the Smokies home run parade last night in today's Cubs Farm...
Just three starts into his San Francisco Giants career, Blake Snell is heading to the injured list with a left-adductor strain. Oof. You hate to even say it — and who really knows if this was related — but early...
In 1997, I was a miserable Chicago Cubs fan. I mean, that was true a lot of the time, but I mean it in a very specific way that year: the Cubs had started the season 0-14. They had literally...
The Milwaukee Brewers (15-8) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (13-12) square off in Pittsburgh on Thursday. First pitch is at 12:35 PM ET at PNC Park.The Brewers will call on Freddy Peralta (2-0) against the Pirates and Mitch Keller (2-2).Brewers vs....
The oddsmakers have the Vegas Golden Knights at -120 on the moneyline, and the Dallas Stars at +100, for their matchup on Saturday, April 27 at 10:30 PM ET.Golden Knights vs. Stars Favorite, Moneyline, TotalFavorite: Golden Knights (-120)Underdog: Stars (+100)Total:...
The Cleveland Guardians (17-7), led by Josh Naylor, host Tyler O'Neill and the Boston Red Sox (14-11) at 1:10 PM ET on Thursday in the rubber match of the series.The article below will give you everything you need to know...
The oddsmakers have the Toronto Maple Leafs at -112 on the moneyline, and the Boston Bruins at -108, for their matchup on Saturday, April 27 at 8:00 PM ET.Maple Leafs vs. Bruins Favorite, Moneyline, TotalFavorite: Maple Leafs (-112)Underdog: Bruins (-108)Total:...
On Thursday at 2:35 PM ET, Caleb Raleigh and the Seattle Mariners (12-12) take on Adolis Garcia and the Texas Rangers (13-12) at Globe Life Field.See how to watch the Seattle-Texas matchup below.When is Mariners vs. Rangers and when does...
The San Diego Padres (14-13), led by Fernando Tatis Jr., visit Ryan McMahon and the Colorado Rockies (6-19) at 3:10 PM ET on Thursday.See how to watch the San Diego-Colorado matchup below.When is Padres vs. Rockies and when does it...
The desert heat is rising in Las Vegas, and so are the expectations for the Raiders. The 2024 NFL Draft is rapidly approaching, and the Silver and Black hold the 13th overall pick. Will they prioritize shoring up the offensive...
The Minnesota Twins (10-13), led by Ryan Jeffers and aiming for a series sweep, host Gavin Sheets and the Chicago White Sox (3-21) at 1:10 PM ET on Thursday.See how to watch the Minnesota-Chicago matchup below.When is Twins vs. White...
On Thursday, trying to prevent a series sweep, Justin Verlander takes the mound for the Houston Astros (7-18) against Javier Assad and the Chicago Cubs (15-9), with first pitch scheduled for 2:20 PM ET.Find out how to watch the Houston-Chicago...
The Kansas City Royals (15-10), led by Salvador Perez, host Daulton Varsho and the Toronto Blue Jays (13-12) on Thursday at 2:10 PM ET.The article below will provide you with everything you need to watch Kansas City play Toronto.When is...
NEWSLETTER
Jason Heyward, a notorious slow starter throughout his big league career, predictably started slowly in his first month with the Cubs (with no help from a balky wrist, which he first started dealing with way back in the first week of the season).
