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The Forest Scout

The Student News Site of Lake Forest High School

The Forest Scout

The Student News Site of Lake Forest High School

The Forest Scout

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Replaced: Jon Jay Signing Signals Dexter Fowler’s Departure from Chicago

It has been a month since the Cubs could finally call themselves World Series Champions for the first time since 1908 and right away, of course, people already started placing their money on the Cubs to win the 2016 World Series for consecutive years. In fact, Westgate Las Vegas reports that as of November 28, the Cubs have 3/1 odds to win the World Series in 2017.  However, if the Cubs want to have the same vibes they did a month ago next season, they will have to do it with a slightly modified roster. Tuesday night the Cubs signed center fielder Jon Jay, known to many by his nickname “The Federalist,” to a one year deal. Jay, who formerly played on the San Diego Padres and most notably the St. Louis Cardinals, comes in as an outfielder–who will most likely play center. With this recent signing, it denotes to Cubs’ fans that their current center fielder and All-Star, Dexter Fowler, won’t be a part of the 2017 roster. If the expected outcome happens, the question is if Jon Jay will be able to fill the role that Dexter Fowler played for the Cubs in 2016 and, of course, where the former World Series champion will land as a free agent.

Excluding a miracle, it looks like Jon Jay will be the Cubs next center fielder. The 31 year old has some large shoes to fill as Fowler’s replacement. Looking back at Jay’s 2015 season with the Cardinals, he hit .210 in only 79 games. This past season when he was with the Padres, Jay hit .291 in a shortened season of 90 games due to a broken forearm, but his average last year was still better than Fowler’s .276 average. So, with that being said, it would not be surprising if Joe Maddon has Jay as his leadoff man.

Then, of course, there is the defensive side. Jon Jay may not be able to cover as much outfield ground as Fowler does, but he still commits a minimal amount of errors (8 errors in 7 seasons) and has a good arm. With all that on the table, Jon Jay definitely does not lack potential with the Cubs and was one of the best players on the market to fill Fowlers’ spot if he decides to sign with another franchise.

So now it seems almost inevitable that the second Cub overall and the first on the 25 man championship roster will be leaving the organization. After declining the Cubs’ qualifying offer, Dexter Fowler is looking for $18 Million per season in a multiyear deal. The Cubs weren’t going to offer that type of money and a long time commitment. Now he is on the market and teams like the Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, and even the Los Angeles Dodgers are showing interest in the All-Star outfielder. The timetable on when he will sign with a team is unclear, but when he eventually does make his decision check in with The Forest Scout to hear the facts about the deal and how it may affect the Cubs moving forward.

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About the Contributor
Joe Thomas, Author
Joe Thomas is a staff writer for The Forest Scout who has a burning passion for sports. He covers high school football, hockey and baseball along with the MLB and college basketball. He constantly dreams of being a writer for a professional sports organization when he is older. You can find the majority of his work in the In Between The Lines section.
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