Cubs Avoid Arbitration With 6 Players
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Cubs have agreed to one-year deals with six players to avoid salary arbitration: Jeff Baker, Blake DeWitt, Ian Stewart, Geovany Soto, Chris Volstad and Randy Wells.
Terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Baker, 30, will return for a fourth year with the cubs. He hit .269 with 12 doubles, 3 home runs and 23 RBI in 81 games as a utility player for the Cubs.
DeWitt, 26, hit .265 with 11 doubles, 5 home runs and 26 RBI in 121 games with the Cubs last year as a utility player.
Soto, who turns 29 on Friday, hit .228 with 26 doubles, 17 home runs and 54 RBI in 125 games as the Cubs' primary catcher.
Stewart, 26, was acquired from the Rockies as part of a four-player trade last month. He is a career .236 hitter with 61 doubles, 54 home runs and 187 RBI in 432 major league games with the Rockies since 2007, playing mostly at third base.
Volstad, 25, was acquired by the Cubs from the Marlins on Jan. 5. He went 5-13 with a 4.89 ERA in 29 starts last year. He is 32-39 in his career with a 4.59 ERA in 103 major league appearances with the Marlins since 2008, making at least 29 starts each of the last three years.
Wells, 29, went 7-6 with a 4.99 ERA in 23 starts with the Cubs last season, missing two months due to a right forearm strain.
