Cubs: Adam Wainwright joins Cardinals' criticism of Jason Heyward

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The St. Louis Cardinals aren't going to let this Jason Heyward signing go anytime soon, it appears.

After manager Mike Matheny ripped Heyward's reasoning for spurning the Cardinals and signing with the Cubs for less money earlier this week, now St. Louis ace Adam Wainwright has joined the fray.

[RELATED - Cardinals don't appreciate Jason Heyward's reason for signing with Cubs]

Wainwright hopped on Bernie Miklasz's radio show Wednesday and while he began a question about Heyward by calling the young outfielder "one of the best teammates," he also wondered why Heyward would take less money to sign with the Cubs (the Cardinals reportedly offered Heyward a deal around $200 million) and become a part of the young core in Chicago:

“A great teammate. One of the best teammates actually. A great friend and a great person. But when you look at that money that was offered to him, there’s really not much more our management can do than offer him that contract. He knows that we’re going to be in a position to win every year.


"And what it comes down to is this: He didn’t want to play there after myself, and Yadier (Molina) and Matt (Holliday) were gone, on such a long contract. It really comes down to a personality trait to me. The person that we want to give that kind of money to, that big money to, he needs to be a person that wants to be the guy that carries the torch. He needs to be a guy that wants to be the person, that after we leave, he carries on the tradition. And that’s just a personality thing, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But we’re looking for that guy who wants to be the man.”


Wainwright then launched into his views about how Heyward didn't want to be "The One" in St. Louis, like something out of "The Matrix":


“If he’s the guy wants to carry the torch, if he’s the guy that wants to be ‘The One’ — the cornerstone guy that you build a team around, then he takes that contract. But he wants to be a part of a system that he knows is going to be there for years and years. And there is nothing wrong with that.


"Listen, we know Jason so well. He is such a great teammate, and such a great guy. We love Jason. And he’s going to do great for Chicago. It just wasn’t the right situation for Jason and frankly, it wasn’t the right situation for us. We’re going to find that guy and it may be somebody already there.”

[SHOP: Gear up, Cubs fans!]

Will this be the last of the "war of words?" Don't count on it...

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