Potential SF Giants target LF Ian Happ signs extension with Cubs
The Chicago Cubs have agreed to a three-year, $61 million contract extension with left fielder Ian Happ, according to a report by Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation. Happ was in his final season under team control and was slated to be one of the best hitters on next offseason's free-agent market. Given the SF Giants failure to add a star bat last offseason to a long-term contract, Happ was expected to be one of the best potential fits with San Francisco. Now, they will have to look elsewhere.
Cubs outfielder Ian Happ high fives Yan Gomes after a win over the Reds. (2023)
Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports
Happ was the ninth overall pick by the Cubs back in the 2015 MLB Draft. Less than two years later, Happ made his big-league debut in Chicago and immediately became a core piece of the team's offensive attack. While the Cubs have traded or failed to extend most of the best players from the franchise's last title contender in 2017 and 2018, Happ is one of the only remaining pieces.
The Cubs are coming off two-straight losing seasons, and because of Happ's proximity to free agency, there was an expectation that Chicago might move Happ by the 2023 MLB trade deadline for a package of younger pieces, something that presumably would have interested the Giants. They technically still could trade him, but it is highly unlikely.
Happ played all over the diamond early in his career, seeing extended playing time at all three outfield positions alongside first, second, and third base. However, Happ has been the Cubs everyday left fielder for the past two seasons.
Happ is a career .250/.341/.461 hitter with 105 home runs in 688 games, making him the favorite to the best free-agent outfielder in the 2023-24 free-agent class prior to agreeing to this extension. He received his first All-Star Game selection last year and is off to a scorching start in 2023. In 10 games this season, Happ is hitting .314/.467/.514 with nearly as many walks (10) as strikeouts (11).
Angels star Shohei Ohtani will obviously be the biggest name in next winter's free agency. However, Ian Happ was projected to be one of the 10 best players on the market. Not only does Happ's extension with the Cubs take him off the market, but it also gives the SF Giants fewer external options to replace outfielder Michael Conforto if he opts out of his current contract and signs elsewhere.
