REPORT: Chicago Cubs, 2B Darwin Barney Avoid Arbitration

The Chicago Cubs and second baseman Darwin Barney have agreed to a $2.3M deal to avoid arbitration, tweets CBS Sports Jon Heyman.

The deal is the exact midpoint of Barney’s requested $2.8M and the Cubs’ $1.8M offer.

Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Barney, 28, started on the disabled list in 2013 after he ran into a wall at Minute Maid Park in Houston as Brent Lillibridge was the Cubs Opening Day second baseman. In 141 games, Barney hit a .208/.256/.303/.569 slash line with 41 RBIs.

In Barney’s best offensive season in 2011, he had a 83 OPS+ and a .276/.313/.353 slash line, which was over shadowed by his phenomenal defensive play. In 2012, Barney won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award as the best fielding second baseman in the Majors, the first by a Cub second baseman since Ryne Sandberg in 1991. Barney only made two errors that season and tied the MLB record for consecutive games without an error at second base with 141 games.

Cubs’ right-hander Jeff Samardzija is the only arbitration-eligible player left unsigned. Samardzija’s arbitration hearing is scheduled for next Monday, Feb. 10 if the Cubs and Notre Dame product cannot come to an agreement. If the two sides do not come to an agreement it would be Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein’s first hearing since he joined the North Siders.

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