Jason Heyward's signing could get outfield market moving, plus FanFest note

Apparently, it is possible for a top free agent to accept less than the biggest offer. Amid reports that St. Louis and Washington offered him contracts worth $200 million or more, outfielder Jason Heyward took a deal for less.

The free agent outfielder agreed to terms with the Chicago Cubs yesterday, getting an eight-year deal with opt-out clauses worth $184 million. Heyward hit just 13 homers with 60 RBIs last year. Yet his outstanding defense, his speed and his age - he's just 26 - helped him get the mega-deal.

Here is an interesting comparison between former Oriole Nick Markakis and Heyward. Here are their career numbers through the 2015 season:

Heyward: .268 average, .353 OBP, .431 slugging, .784 OPS, 114 OPS plus.
Markakis: .291 average, .359 OBP, .429 slugging, .788 OPS, 112 OPS plus.

Here are 162-game averages for both players:
Heyward: 31 doubles, four triples, 19 homers, 68 RBIs.
Markakis: 38 doubles, two triples, 15 homers, 76 RBIs.

In no way am I saying Markakis is Heyward's equal. He is not. But he sure compares well to him in these offensive stats. In fact, he tops Heyward in most. But Markakis is not working with a $184 million deal.

Maybe Heyward's signing will get the ball really rolling in the outfield market. Which outfielder will sign next and will the Orioles be the team doing the deal?

Four outfielders that might be on the O's radar are Alex Gordon, Justin Upton, Denard Span and Dexter Fowler. Here are their projected contracts by MLBTraderumors.com:

* Upton - seven years, $147 million
* Gordon - five years, $105 million
* Fowler - four years, $60 million
* Span - three years, $39 million

The first three turned down qualifying offers and the Orioles would lose the No. 14 pick in the June draft for signing them. Span did not get a qualifying offer.

FanFest is today: It's more than a month earlier than normal, but the Baltimore Convention Center will be buzzing with baseball talk today at Orioles FanFest. Hope to see many of you there.

Also hope to see you when I host two kids press conferences - one with manager Buck Showalter at 2 p.m., and one with Caleb Joseph and Kevin Gausman at 3:10 p.m.

I will also host what should be a very interesting fan forum with seven O's young players that hope they are making their way toward the majors. Join us at 4 p.m. for this forum called "The Pipeline" with pitchers David Hess, Joe Gunkel, Parker Bridwell, Chris Lee, Andrew Triggs and C.J. Riefenhauser, along with outfielder Mike Yastrzemski. After that I'll host the media fan forum at 4:45 p.m.

In and around all of that, we'll be interviewing some O's players and coaches and passing along some blogs, quotes and tweets. Sounds like a rather full and fun day. See you there!