Yes they overpaid for him, however the Cards and one other team did offer him either more per year on a shorter deal or an overall bigger contract.Heyward is a prime example. I looked up his career stats and nothing he did not ATL or STL made him work 180 million
but
the Cubs thought otherwise.
He was the top free agent when they signed him, left handed bat with some power potential, hit like .280ish the year before, hit 30ish HR a couple of years before and was the best defensive outfielder in the game at the time. They wouldnt have won the WS without him, and not because of his so called "speech"
His defense and veteran presence in the clubhouse is what was huge imo. Everyone knew like with Lesters contract, the tail end would bite the Cubs in the ass, but thats the price of playing poker. For the record, he really shit the bed offensively thru the life of the contract lol