The Chicago Cubs had to decided whether to tender contracts to their arbitration eligible players -- Koyie, Hill, Jeff Baker, Blake DeWitt, Matt Garza, Geovany Soto, Ian Stewart, and Randy Wells -- prior to 11 p.m. Monday night, and decided to extend offers to all eligible players except catcher Koyie Hill.
The 32-year old Hill served as a backup to 2008 National League Rookie of the Year Geovany Soto, and only hit .194/.268./.276 over 46 games for the Cubs in 2011. SB Nation's Chicago Cubs blog, Bleed Cubbie Blue, wasn't exactly broken up about the decision to non-tender Hill:
So the Cubs will have a new backup catcher in 2012. Steve Clevenger seems the likely choice if the Cubs stay in-house; he hits well, and is also lefthanded, something MLB moguls seem to like in a backup catcher if the main guy hits righthanded.
Koyie Hill, for his part, seems like a good guy, and someone who, like a lot of catchers who can't hit much in the major leagues, might make a good coach or manager someday. He'll be 33 in March; if Koyie wants to stay in baseball, I hope Theo & Jed can find a place for him in the organization to begin a coaching career.
The rest of the listed players were expected to receive tender offers from the team.
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