This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- As the Cubs prepared for batting practice on Friday at Dodger Stadium, Jason Heyward made his way to the cage and embraced a few of his former teammates. With that first phase of his reunion with the North Siders complete, Heyward is now readying to greet Cubs fans again at Wrigley Field.

“I haven't thought a whole lot about it, because my perspective has been [to] just be where I'm at right now,” Heyward said in Los Angeles last weekend. “It’ll be cool.”

After it was announced last season that Heyward’s run in Chicago was coming to a close, he held a farewell press conference and had his Friendly Confines curtain call. Heyward was part of the team that ended the Cubs’ 108-year World Series drought, so -- even with the peaks and valleys of his seven seasons in Chicago -- he will forever hold a place in fans’ hearts.

Part of the Cubs’ offseason roster reconstruction included releasing the veteran Heyward, who signed a Minor League contract with the Dodgers. He reunited with old Atlanta teammate Freddie Freeman, has continued to offer veteran leadership for L.A. and has rediscovered some power early in the season after making the Opening Day roster.

During the Cubs’ trip to L.A., Cubs beat reporters caught up with Heyward, who is back in Chicago for a four-game weekend set against the North Siders. Here are a few highlights from the conversation.

On seeing the Cubs sign Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ to extensions:

Heyward: “Nico and Ian, I love them to death. I’ve been to battle with them, spent numerous hours with them off the field. I'm happy for them and their families, because they worked for it. They're not about money first. That's not who they are. That's not to knock people that think that way, because we all need things that motivate when it comes to going to work or even competing in the game. But they definitely deserve it. The Cubs didn't miss on those two guys, character-wise and what they can do on the field.”

On Happ developing into a core player for the Cubs after early-career ups and downs:

Heyward: “It’s impressive in his situation, because he's hung in there, waiting for an opportunity to play every day. It's very tough to do in a situation where you have a team that's expected to win a World Series. There's a lot that comes with that. And you see that in every sport, where it's not always next man up. You've got an organization like the Yankees who had the same players there for a while, and people had to wait.

“So, for him to hang in there and wait for an everyday spot to play, keep getting better at playing an outfield position, winning a Gold Glove, obviously making an All-Star team last year, there's so many things that he had to hang in there and do that. To me, his character already lined up with his work ethic.”

On the advice he gave Dansby Swanson during the shortstop’s free agency process:

Heyward: “It was strictly free-agent stuff. Not about what spot, because I feel like that's something very personal. And then also, people can want to go somewhere, but it's about what offers you have. So, I wasn't trying to butt in on that. But just as far as family and change of scenery, things you can’t control, those will all be OK. You're going to go play baseball, you're going to get paid a lot of money as you deserve, you're going to hopefully get a nice amount of years to be at one spot and set up shop.

“So, just have a perspective on that, and know the other stuff will be all right. Keep being good to yourself. And once he did sign with the Cubs, I just told him like, ‘Hey, day games, Wrigley, Chicago, all this stuff is going to fly by. So just, whatever you’ve got to do for you, take care of that and everything else will fall in place.’”

On Hoerner, Happ and others around the Cubs still citing Heyward’s impact and leadership:

Heyward: “I had guys do the same for me, pass a lot of info down, spent a lot of time with me. Obviously, David Ross being one of them. It's a long list of people that have helped me out. ... It’s nice to be able to pass that along. I mean, that's the biggest part of the game -- the fraternity we have and guys being able to relate, share perspective and make it easier on the next group.”