Nightengale on Contreras: ‘He's gone for sure'

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According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, Willson Contreras' time with the Cubs is over. 

"He's gone, for sure. The Cubs really had no interest in keeping him," Nightengale said on NBC's Sports Sunday. "They talked [about] a contract last spring, and that was pretty much it.

"They couldn't get what they wanted to trade down the line, which may scare him a little bit – the fact that nobody was willing to offer any amount to something better than a draft pick the Cubs would get. So he'll walk and we'll see where he ends up."

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Contreras went through a plethora of "goodbyes" leading up to the trade deadline in August. But the Cubs did not find an offer they found suitable for the three-time All-Star catcher, and he remained with them the rest of the season.

Contreras has not heard anything about a contract extension and has likely played his last game in a Cubs uniform. The Cubs will extend him a qualifying offer worth around $19 million, Jed Hoyer said Monday at his season-ending press conference. The Cubs will receive draft compensation if he declines the offer.

"The Cubs have no intention of keeping him now," Nightengale said. 

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