Willson Contreras to Get Qualifying Contract Offer From Cubs, GM Jed Hoyer Says

If the Cubs offer Willson Contreras a qualifying offer, he'll be able to stay.

The president of baseball operations said that they would continue that dialogue. I don't want to make any assumptions because we've talked to Willson'srepresentative.

The offer is for a year and around $19 million. The Cubs will get compensation if Contreras turns it down.

This past season seemed to be the last one for Contreras with the Cubs.

When he wasn't traded at the deadline, he was surprised because Chicago was not a contender and could have gotten prospects for the veteran backstop. It seemed like his tenure with the only Major League Baseball team he's known was drawing to a close when he was emotional in the bench.

"This is a spot that I wanted to be since I was a kid, and I did everything I could to reach free agency," he said. I'm proud of it.

It makes me sad to leave my team. I'm ready for anything that comes my way.

It would be impossible to say that his time with the Cubs was a failure if he turned down the offer. His seven years with the team included three All-Star appearances and a World Series title when he was a rookies.

During the 2016 season, he hit a home run in his first at-bat and was a part of the title run.

He slashed.243/.349/.466 with 22 home runs and 55 runs scored. While the majority of his prime is behind him, he is still a productive catcher who is expected to generate a lot of interest this winter.