Wainwright: Heyward didn't want to be 'The One' in St. Louis
Jason Heyward spurned the St. Louis Cardinals earlier in the offseason with his decision to sign an eight-year, $184 million with the division-rival Chicago Cubs.
As if it wasn't tough enough for St. Louis watching a star player, despite playing just one season with the team, go to its biggest rival, Heyward made some parting shots at the Cardinals in his news conference introduction stating the aging core of St. Louis was a primary reason of joining the youthful Cubs.
Adam Wainwright, who is returning from an Achilles tear where he missed a majority of the 2015 season, doesn't quite see the Cardinals' future like Heyward expressed. He noted there wasn't much more the Cardinals could do to entice the free agent to re-sign with the club.
"A great teammate. One of the best teammates actually. A great friend and a great person," Wainwright told the Bernie Show on 101 Sports Radio in St. Louis about his former teammate Heyward. "But when you look at that money that was offered to him, there's really not much more our management can do than offer him that contract. He knows that we're going to be in a position to win every year. and what it comes down to is this: he didn't want to play there after myself, and Yadier (Molina) and Matt (Holliday) were gone, on such a long contract."
The Cardinals reportedly offered Heyward a more lucrative contract than that he received with the Cubs, but overall it was speculated Heyward preferred sharing the spotlight instead of being looked to for holding the middle of the lineup.
"He needs to be a person that wants to be the guy that carries the torch. He needs to be a guy that wants to be the person, that after we leave, he carries on the tradition," Wainwright said. "And that's just a personality thing, and there's nothing wrong with that. But we're looking for that guy who wants to be 'the man'."
While some fans took Heyward's comments to heart about the Cubs being set for more long-term success, Wainwright insist there are no hard feelings towards the Cardinals former teammate.
"We're not mad about that at all. We love Jason," he said. "And it really comes down to a personality trait. If he's the guy wants to carry the torch, if he's the guy that wants to be 'The One' -- the cornerstone guy that you build a team around, then he takes that contract. But he wants to be a part of a system that he knows is going to be there for years and years. and there is nothing wrong with that."
