NEWSLETTER
Today, the Chicago Cubs tendered contracts to all of their arbitration-eligible players except recently-claimed reliever Ryan Cook:
Now, the Cubs and the players will work toward a contract for 2016 so that they can avoid arbitration. If they aren’t able to agree to a deal sooner, the sides will exchange contract figures in January. You can see some of the early arbitration estimates for these players here.
Earlier today, the Cubs agreed to a $1.42 million deal with Brothers, so that’s already settled.
The Cubs also agreed to a deal with Richard, though the terms have not yet been disclosed. I’d expect he got something in the $1.5 to $2 million range.
In addition to non-tendering Cook, the Cubs also non-tendered recently-claimed lefty Jack Leathersich, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and, unlike Cook, was not arbitration eligible. Why non-tender him today, you ask? Well, as I mentioned this morning, and you can read in detail courtesy of Arizona Phil, but the short version is: by non-tendering Leathersich today, the Cubs can try and sign him to a minor league deal without having to expose him to outright waivers (on which he might otherwise be claimed). Given Leathersich’s considerable upside if he comes back healthy from Tommy John next year, here’s hoping the Cubs can retain him.
As for Cook, my best guess is that the non-tender was at least partially due to how many bullpen arms the Cubs picked up subsequent to claiming Cook.
After non-tendering Cook and Leathersich, the Cubs’ 40-man roster stands at 36.
