Cubs Avoid Arbitration With Geovany Soto

The Chicago Cubs and starting Catcher Geovany Soto agreed to a 1 year, $3 million deal thus avoiding arbitration. Soto received a healthy bump in salary as he made $575K last season.

Soto had a successful bounce back year in 2010 as he finished the season hitting .280/.393/.407 with 17 home runs and 53 RBI’s. The year before was a year to forget for Soto as he struggled mightily hitting .218/.321/.381 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI’s.

If Soto is capable of having another strong season, then he may be in line for contract extension after season. Coming into the 2010 season, the biggest concern about Soto was that he was not a run producer. While Soto only had 53 RBI’s, he proved this past season that he could be counted on as a run producer. With runners in scoring position last season, Soto hit .280/.430/.467 with 3 home runs and 33 RBI’s. In total with runners on base-including in scoring position- Soto hit .303/.424/.515 with 6 home runs and 42 RBI’s.

The only thing that concerns me about Soto is his durability. In 2009, and 2010 respectively Soto played in 102 and 105 games. The 105 games in 2010, was the second lowest among Catchers who had over 380 at bats. The same can be said for the 102 games that Soto played in during the 2009 season. So before the Cubs decided whether or not to lock up Soto for the long term, they should pay close attention to the amount of games he plays in next season.