Heyward represents a dilemma in Chicago

Jason Heyward smacked a tiebreaking single Sunday and celebrated with a vigorous clap and wave toward his teammates.

Heyward’s seventh-inning single capped his first three-hit game in nearly four weeks and provided some timely relief after bouts of failed situations and soft-contact outs.

The Cubs remain patient with the mild-mannered Heyward, 28, who was benched against lefthanded pitchers during the latter part of 2016 and has yet to see a dramatic rise in power despite revamping his batting stance.

Their tolerance persists because of Heyward’s Gold Glovecaliber defense in right field, his .322 batting average with runners in scoring position with two out and his willingness to speak up to teammates.

Oh, and Heyward is completing the second season of an eight-year, $184 million contract in which he’ll receive $21.5 million in 2017.

“Every major-league hitter goes through ups and downs during the course of a season,” general manager Jed Hoyer said. “With Jason, the contact has been much better this season.

“Currently he’s in a little bit of a rut. … But I see this as a little blip in his 2017 season, and I think he’ll get back to where he was after the All-Star break.”

But the Cubs would like to see a more substantial return on the lofty investment they made in December 2015 that capped a three-week spree in which they signed veteran pitcher John Lackey and versatile switch hitter and World Series hero Ben Zobrist.

The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Heyward clearly had the biggest upside because of his youth, talent and potential to blend power and run production, yet he hasn’t come close to matching his career highs.

Despite moving to Arizona last winter to work with assistant hitting coach Eric Hinske on lowering his hands to flatten his swing path, Heyward has hit only 10 home runs — two more than last season — and has 27 extra-base hits, eight fewer than in 2016.

The upside is Heyward has raised his batting average by 32 points to .262 and has cut down his strikeout total by 30 to 63. But his batting average on balls in play, according to FanGraphs, is only .287.

One reason Heyward hasn’t been benched is he’s batting a respectable .270 against left-handers.

Given the lack of production, it’s highly unlikely Heyward will exercise the opt-out clause in his contract after the 2018 season.

“I’ve been in the playoffs every year but 2011 and 2014, and I almost made it in 2011,” Heyward said. “That’s what we play for. That’s what I’m playing for.”