The Chicago Cubs signed 24 of their players on Monday, according to ESPN Chicago. The players were all under team control still, meaning the signings were not free agent acquisitions, but rather just 1-year, pre-arbitration contracts.
ESPN Chicago has the details:
The minimum salary this season is $480,000 with five Cubs players agreeing to deals over $500,000. Those players are Jeff Samardzija ($2.64 million), James Russell ($512,000), Starlin Castro ($567,000), Darwin Barney ($500,000) and Travis Wood ($505,000).
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The full list of players who agreed to deals Monday:
Right-handed pitchers: Alberto Cabrera, Lendy Castillo, Casey Coleman, Rafael Dolis, Marcos Mateo, Samardzija and Casey Weathers.
Left-handed pitchers: Jeff Beliveau, John Gaub, Scott Maine, Russell and T. Wood.
Catchers: Welington Castillo and Steve Clevenger.
Infielders: Barney, Adrian Cardenas, Castro, Bryan LaHair, Junior Lake, Anthony Rizzo and Josh Vitters.
Outfielders: Tony Campana, Dave Sappelt and Matt Szczur.
The two most notable signees are SS Starlin Castro and RP Jeff Samardzija. Castro, now a veteran of two full MLB seasons, becomes arbitration eligible after the 2012 season, meaning his salary should increase exponentially at that time. Samardzija, meanwhile, signed a major-league contract out of college and recently re-worked his contract with the Cubs following his seemingly permanent relegation to relief duty.
The Cubs started their 2012 season with Sunday's spring training game against the Oakland Athletics, and they will begin the season at home on Thursday, April 5, taking on the Washington Nationals.
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