Could Jason Heyward trade in his Cardinal red for Cubbie blue?

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On this past Friday, the deadline to extend the qualifying offer to players came and went, and all-in-all, 20 players ended up receiving one. If the current trend keeps up, then we probably won’t see anybody take the qualifying offer, as players have quickly realized that it’s better to test their luck on the market than to just accept a quick-and-easy $15.8 million from their current employer. This will more than likely be the case for Jason Heyward, as there’s probably a better chance of one of those “An asteroid will wipe out the Earth on a certain date in the future” stories coming true than there is Heyward accepting a QO.

So, where will the presumed top free agent on the market land this offseason? Whoever gets him will probably have to pay a pretty penny, which is probably why the Cardinals are preparing to take their supplemental draft pick and be happy with that once Heyward gets what could potentially be a megadeal. The crew over at FanGraphs is projecting a deal that could be in the neighborhood of at least six years, $200 million. Again, that’s a pretty penny, but for a player who’s one of the most dynamic defensive talents in the game with an offensive skill set that’s still evolving, he should be worth every bit of that coin.

That being said, we’re going to see nearly everybody with a decent amount of money to spend this offseason at least take a flyer on Heyward. This includes the usual big spenders like the Yankees and Angels, and this could also include the team that knocked out Heyward’s 2015 employers -- the Chicago Cubs. Although the crew over at Bleed Cubbie Blue is a bit apprehensive about the potential cost, they had a first-row view of Heyward’s abilities this offseason, so they know exactly what Heyward is capable of. Plus, snatching away your hated rival’s best player would be the biggest power move of the offseason, for sure. There are plenty of potential destinations for Heyward, but a move to the Friendly Confines would absolutely make the biggest splash of the Hot Stove season. And it would give even more spice to an already-heated NL Central Division.