Dec. 02--The Chicago Cubs and the other 29 major league teams face an 11 p.m. Tuesday deadline to tender contracts to their 10 arbitration-eligible players.
The Cubs are expected to tender contracts to a large majority of those players, although they could to try to explore a trade to address a specific area or avoid paying a player.
Of the 10 players, the two players expected to be tendered and will receive the largest salaries are left-hander Travis Wood and Jake Arrieta.
Although Wood is coming off a terrible season, the Cubs' rotation lacks deep experience and Wood was a National League All-Star in 2013. Manager Joe Maddon already has asked the Cubs' analytics department to research information related to pitchers batting eighth, and Wood clearly is the Cubs' best-hitting pitcher.
The landscape could change, however, if the Cubs sign marquee left-hander Jon Lester. The Cubs already signed left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada for $4 million for 2015.
MLBTradeRumors.com projects Wood could earn $5.5 million next season.
Arrieta, currently the ace of the staff, is projected to earn $4.1 million, according to MLBTradeRumors.com.
Losing out on free agent Russell Martin leaves the Cubs with Welington Castillo as their catcher for next season.
There also is some danger in tendering contracts to players coming off career-high seasons. The Cubs paid outfielder Nate Schierholtz $5 million in 2014, only to see him struggle and later designate him for assignment.
However, teams can tender contracts to arbitration-eligible player but only be obligated to pay a fraction of their salaries if they elect to cut them before the start of the regular season.
The Cubs and other teams are likely to scour the list of players who weren't tendered contracts and thus will become free agents. The Cubs signed infielder Emilio Bonifacio as a free agent last February after the Kansas City Royals designated him for assignment after agreeing to a deal earlier in the winter.
The other Cubs' arbitration eligible players are pitchers Pedro Strop, Wesley Wright and Felix Doubront; catcher John Baker; infielder Luis Valbuena, and outfielders Chris Coghlan and Justin Ruggiano.
