Running down the Cubs’ arbitration-related news

Sep 25, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs second baseman

(15) is congratulated by his teammates for scoring a run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

This afternoon’s deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to make deals came and went with several major players around the league coming to agreements with their respective clubs, but the Cubs’ top two players will exchange arbitration figures – which will be released later this afternoon.

Both Jeff Samardzija and Travis Wood – key staples in last year’s pitching rotation – are exchanging numbers with the Cubs regarding next season. Both pitchers tallied over 200 innings last year for Chicago.

The team has agreed to deals, thus avoid arbitration, with several players, according to reports passed along by MLB.com Cubs’ beat writer Carrie Muskat, including outfielder Nate Schierholtz, infielder Luis Valbuena and left-handed reliever James Russell.

Reports indicate that Russell inked a $1.775 million deal, Schierholtz signed a $5 deal and Valbuena’s was worth $1.71 million.

Other players the team failed to reach agreements with include second baseman Darwin Barney, reliever Pedro Strop and outfielder Justin Ruggiano.

The two teams can negotiate after numbers are exchanged, but if they are not able to come to terms on a deal, arbitration hearings are scheduled for Feb. 1-21

Here’s our previous coverage of the arbitration-eligible players on the Cubs roster.