The Cubs avoided arbitration on Friday with Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras and Zach Davies.
The team reached one-year contracts with Baez ($11.65 million), Bryant ($19.5 million), Contreras ($6.65 million) and Davies ($8.63 million), according to league sources.
Baez and Bryant enter their final year of club control before entering free agency at the conclusion of the 2021 season. The Cubs have already made a few significant moves this offseason by trading ace Yu Darvish and non-tendering Kyle Schwarber and could still make a few more before the start of Spring Training. The team is still in the process of deciding which of their core players they’ll keep in Chicago long term.
“We have a team that just won the division, we have a lot of really good players, and I think we’re very focused on the ‘21 season,” president Jed Hoyer said earlier this offseason. “That said, obviously, if there are moves we can make that will help our future then we have to look at those given the fact that we have a lot of players that are kind of close to the end of their arbitration years.”
Outfielder Ian Happ was the only arbitration-eligible player who was not able to come to terms on a deal by Friday’s noon deadline, which likely leads to an arbitration hearing. The two sides still have until the hearing to come to an agreement.
The Cubs haven’t gone to an arbitration hearing with a player since reliever Justin Grimm in 2018, which the Cubs won.
Happ, 26, was the Cubs best offensive player last season, slashing .258/.361/.505 and hit a team-leading 12 home runs.
