Dodgers Like the Tools Jason Heyward Has to Build Off Of

When the Dodgers signed Jason Heyward to a minor-league contract last week, it didn't exactly fill L.A. fans with excitement. After all, Heyward has been a well below-average player for most of his seven years in Chicago, and it's easy to forget how good he was with the Braves and Cardinals before he signed with the Cubs.

But Los Angeles hasn't forgotten, and when he was released in November, they were one of the first teams to reach out to Heyward, as Jack Harris reports in the Los Angeles Times.

Heyward said that during his initial Zoom meetings with the team, club brass identified his bat speed and natural athleticism as tools they liked; building blocks they believe could make Heyward a contributor at the major league level. ...

Their work together began this past week, as Heyward flew out to Los Angeles to work out at Dodger Stadium alongside the club’s hitting coaches, Robert Van Scoyoc and Aaron Bates, and strength staff.

“It almost feels like a walk-through before spring training,” Heyward said. “I’m gonna spend more time with them the rest of the offseason.”

Heyward is still an impressive physical specimen, so his decline hasn't been due to apathy or a lack of conditioning. He had an outstanding season in 2020, but he's been hampered by injuries the last two years.

The Dodgers are hoping with Heyward's tools and their staff, they can help him rediscover the skills that made him a star his first six years in the big leagues. He's 33 now, which isn't young by baseball standards, but it's plenty young to put together a handful of productive seasons at the tail end of his career.