Dodgers sign OF Heyward to a minor league deal

Jason Heyward, the erstwhile All-Star and five-time Gold Glove Award victor who has struggled offensively for astir of the past six years, has signed a insignificant league declaration with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the squad announced Thursday. The statement includes an invitation to outpouring training.

Heyward, inactive lone 33, was a dynamic defender, a coagulated baserunner and a unsafe - albeit inconsistent -- powerfulness hitter successful his archetypal six seasons, batting .268/.353/.431 with 276 extra-base hits with the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs, elevating into a morganatic contender, signed him to an eight-year, $184 cardinal declaration successful December of 2015 but watched him nutrient an adjusted OPS that was 14% beneath the league mean from 2016 to 2022.

In Chicago, Heyward was considered a consenting mentor and a fabulous teammate - he'll ever beryllium known for his code during the rainfall hold successful the precocious stages of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series - but was nary longer deemed worthy of a roster spot. In his last season, helium deed lone .204/.278/.277, played successful lone 48 games and managed lone 1 location run.

The Dodgers, however, person a past of tapping into upside and are littered with holes passim their roster, astir notably successful the near broadside of their infield and successful halfway field.

The Dodgers antecedently non-tendered Cody Bellinger, past watched him sign a one-year, $17.5 cardinal declaration with the Cubs.

If Heyward, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound left-handed hitter, tin someway beryllium productive, helium tin supply immoderate extent alongside the right-handed-hitting Chris Taylor and Trayce Thompson.