Dexter Fowler 'grateful' for his return to Cubs

CHICAGO -- Dexter Fowler wasn’t even supposed to be here.

When the season ended last year, the Chicago Cubs wished him well, knowing they had plenty of options to replace him, believing he would have lots of options, too, as a free agent.

The Cubs figured the next time they saw him, he’d be wearing an opposing uniform. Yet, the free agent market dried up on Fowler, and until the eve of spring training, the Baltimore Orioles were the only team that publicly expressed interest, with reports circulating that he even agreed to a three-year, $35 million contract.

The next thing anyone knew, Fowler showed up to Cubs’ camp, signing a one-year, $13 million contract.

“I prayed on it,’’ Fowler, 30, said, “but I really didn't have too many (options) out there, to be honest with you. They were few and far between. My agent, Casey (Close), was talking to everybody, and I felt like this was the best fit to come back here.

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“At the end of the day, this is where I wanted to be.

“I came back. And I'm definitely grateful for that.’’

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And so are the Cubs, who believe that without his presence, it would already be next year, extending their World Series drought to 109 years.

When the Cubs signed him, they had no idea how much playing time they could give him. They already had a crowded outfield. The way Cubs president Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer figured it, they might as well grab him at that price, and figure out the dynamics later.

“We would not be in this position without him,’’ Cubs manager Joe Maddon said before Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. “Go back to spring training, and even prior to that where we were trying to put this thing together, and I was on the phone a lot with Theo and Jed regarding the composition.

“Then, we got to camp, and Dexter was still out there.’’

The Cubs already had their outfield set with Kyle Schwarber, Jorge Soler, Jason Heyward and Javier Baez. There really was no room for Fowler.

“We started the conversation about, well, if we can do this, how are we going to share the at-bats?’’ Maddon said. “That was kind of a difficult thought process. But baseball has a cruel way of answering its own questions.’’

Schwarber blew out his knee in the fourth game of the year, ending his season, and suddenly Fowler became a necessity in center field, returning Heyward to his natural position in right field. Fowler not only made the All-Star team, but finished the season with a career-high .393 on-base percentage as the Cubs’ leadoff hitter. He hit .390 leading off the game with a .483 on-base percentage - the best by any player since Chuck Knoblauch of the 1996 New York Yankees.

Now, after 103 regular-season victories and a division series conqeust of the San Francisco Giants, Fowler has them on the brink of going where no Cubs team has gone since at least 1945, the last time they won the National League pennant.

“I tell him before every game,’’ Maddon said, ‘You go, we go.’ Tell him before every at-bat. It's just true.’’

In Game 1 of this NLCS, he hit a leadoff single and scored the game’s first run. He made a diving catch in right-center in the third inning, robbing Justin Turner of at least a single. In the fifth inning, he was at it again, diving on Carlos Ruiz’s line drive in left-center, taking away a double, and breaking his belt in the process.

And in the eighth inning, right after his own bat flip in the on-deck circle watching Miguel Montero’s pinch-hit grand slam, he homered himself. It was only the third time in Cubs postseason history they hit back-to-back homers.

Fowler enjoyed talking more about Montero’s homer than this own, when someone asked whether everyone had forgotten that he even hit a homer in the dramatic finish.

“Well, I sure didn’t,’’ Fowler deadpanned.

The reality is that Fowler’s defense actually stole the show, making folks forget that he was actually ridiculed for his defensive skills a year ago.

Well, one man sure never forgot.

“I was getting crushed with the defense,’’ Fowler said. “They said I was a bad outfielder, and I kind of took offense to that. So I just moved back a few steps. I didn't really do anything too different.’’

“I was thinking about it during the off-season. I came into spring training, actually walked into Joe's office, and I said, “I got something for you guys.’ I'm going to play a little deeper this year. I want to play where everybody else is playing, and I think that will help me out.

“They were like, “We were actually going to talk to you about that.’ So, it was kind of a mutual decision and they were cool with it.

“The rest is history.’’

Says Maddon: “The part that's entertaining to me is the fact that he's exactly the same outfielder except that he's playing deeper, and then all of a sudden he's perceived to be better. He's exactly the same player.’’

The Cubs can’t understate Fowler’s impact enough this year, but still, it should be his final weeks with the team. They have plenty of outfield depth with the return of Schwarber and Albert Almora, their center fielder of the future. Even with the qualifying offer increasing to $17.2 million, Fowler is expected to explore the market while teams like the St. Louis Cardinals quietly are waiting to pounce on him.

“You pray on it,’’ Fowler said, “and you go at it from there. That's all you can do. God has a plan for me.

“Things happen for a reason. I just go out and do my best and see where it takes me. If it's not in the cards to have a long-term deal, then it's not in the cards. But, obviously, that's what you want.

“That's what you play for.’’

Yes, and a World Series ring will look awfully nice in that new uniform, too.

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