The Chicago Cubs took one of the most coveted free agents off the board by agreeing to a deal with outfielder Jason Heyward.

What is it about Heyward that made teams so willing to pay considerably for his work? Here’s a look.

What he does best: defense

Heyward rates as one of baseball’s top defensive outfielders. He has had at least 15 defensive runs saved in each of his six seasons in the majors. He peaked with 32 in 2014 and had 24 in 2015. His 122 defensive runs saved are the most in baseball since the start of the 2010 season.

What makes Heyward so good defensively is his ability to turn deep fly balls into outs. Because those balls are often likely doubles and triples, his catching them consistently yields a higher rating. That makes up for his arm rating as basically major league average from a statistical perspective.

Heyward has spent the overwhelming majority of his career in right field. He has three defensive runs saved in a little over 200 career innings in center, which he could play for the Cubs.

His presence fills a significant need. Cubs outfielders combined for minus-26 defensive runs saved in 2015, fourth worst in the majors. Their center fielder, Dexter Fowler (now a free agent) accounted for minus-12 of that. Their right fielders totaled minus-10.

He can hit

Heyward has ranked as an above-average hitter (in terms of OPS+) in five of his first six seasons. His two best seasons were in 2010, when he had a .393 on-base percentage (he has ranged from .319 to .359 since then) and 2012, when he hit 27 home runs (more than the 24 he has in the past two seasons combined).

In August 2013, Heyward was hit in the head by a pitch from Mets left-hander Jonathon Niese. In 2014, he had his worst season against left-handed pitching (.169/.252/.225 slashline) but bounced back to .272/.344/.364 with the Cardinals in 2015. He has hit at least .300 with a .360 on-base percentage against right-handed pitchers each of the past two seasons.

Heyward did do one thing last season that was aberrational for him. He hit ground balls at a 58 percent rate, the sixth-highest rate among those who qualified for the batting title. In each of the three previous seasons, he hit ground balls at a rate of 46 percent or less.

A solid baserunner

Heyward has stolen at least 20 bases in three of the past four seasons, including each of the past two. He’s an efficient base stealer, swiping 43 of 50 since the start of 2014. The 86 percent success rate ranks eighth among those with at least 20 attempts in that span.

The total package

Heyward ranks eighth in wins above replacement since his debut season of 2010, trailing only Robinson Cano, Adrian Beltre, Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout, Andrew McCutchen, Joey Votto and Jose Bautista.

Did you know?

With Heyward and John Lackey going to the Cubs, this is the first time that multiple free agents have gone from the Cardinals to the Cubs in a single offseason