The Chicago Cubs and Jeff Samardzija have agreed on a deal for 2014, during which Samardzija will make $5.345 million in his second year of arbitration. He remains under team control through 2015.
The $5.345 million figure is just about the midpoint between the $6.2 million Samardzija requested and the $4.4 million the Cubs offered, with a slight edge to Samardzija’s number. Call it the “good will” bump. The agreement avoids Monday’s arbitration hearing, which is never a fun thing for a team and a player to engage in.
With Samardzija officially in the fold, the Cubs have signed deals with all of their arbitration-eligible players. They’ll now turn their attention to Spring Training and the attendant possibility of a waiver pickup, a minor trade (they still have to clear a spot on the 40-man for Jason Hammel), or the slim chance of dealing Samardzija before the start of the season. A long-term extension for Samardzija, for now, seems not to be in the cards.