Dodgers: Jason Heyward Feels LA Gave Him Best Opportunity to Return to Form

The right fielder is making efforts to become a productive player once again.

Jason Heyward is looking to bounce back after landing a new home in Los Angeles.

Over his first six seasons with Atlanta and St. Louis, the right fielder had a strong start early in his career. He had a Hall of Fame trajectory, putting up a career WAR of 29.8 through age 25. To start a career, those numbers looked similar to those of baseball legends like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Barry Bonds.

In his first six years in the league, Hayward had elite outfield defense and was sitting 14 percent better than the league average offensively. Unfortunately, things took a turn once he signed an eight-year deal with the Cubs heading into the 2016 season. 

During his seven years in Chicago, things looked a lot different. He was 14 percent worse than average and lacked defensively. With such poor performance, the Cubs released him with just a year left on his contract.

Last week, the Dodgers offered Heyward an opportunity in signing him to a minor league. In an interview with Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, Heyward touched upon why he chose L.A. over other options:

“They have a reputation for doing things in a special way, getting the most out of everyone involved,” Heyward said by phone this week in his first interview since signing with the team. “For them to reach out to me, and want me to have an opportunity to be part of that process, that made it that much easier. …

“I want to be the best version of myself,” he said. “And the Dodgers, I feel like, give me a really, really great opportunity to do that.”

Though injuries have hindered Heyward the past two years, the Dodgers are hoping the 33-year-old can return to form.

Earlier this week, he was already spotted working out at Dodger Stadium. He’s clearly been putting in off-season work and pushing to hopefully become the productive player he once was.