Chicago Cubs, Chris Coghlan avoid arbitration with $4.8 million deal

With the 31st annual Chicago Cubs Convention getting ready to officially begin here shortly, it was announced that a handful of players who will attend the yearly event have been signed to new deals, avoiding arbitration.

Guys such as Travis Wood, Pedro Strop, Hector Rondon, Justin Grimm, and recently acquired Adam Warren have all agreed to new contracts as they prepare for the 2016 campaign.

Wood, 28, walked away with the highest salary out of the five, leaving ace right-hander Jake Arrieta being the lone hurler without a salary. This deal should be announced sometime over the weekend, if not, before the hearings that are scheduled to take place throughout February.

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Now that Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer took care of their bullpen, it was time to take care of a former N.L. Rookie of the Year who not only picked up some playing time in the outfield but at second base as well.

According to Carrie Muskat on Twitter, the Chicago Cubs and Chris Coghlan have agreed on a one-year deal worth $4.8 million, making him the highest paid arbitration eligible player on the roster.

That is until, as mentioned before, Arrieta receives a more than generous salary bump compared to the one he agreed to last season. Some figure he’ll earn a little under or over $10 million before he reports to training camp in Mesa, Arizona in mid-February.

Bringing our attention back to Coghlan.

There’s no question that Kyle Schwarber, Jason Heyward, and Jorge Soler will begin the year as the starting core in the outfield, so that means Coghlan will have to come off the bench, providing depth at all three positions including a couple of spots in the infield.

The 30-year-old left-handed hitter pulled through with a career-high 16 homers while driving in 41 runs, matching his RBI total from his first season with the Cubs in 2014.

Next: Cubs Avoid Arbitration With Five Players

He appeared in 148 games for the North Siders, recording a total of 110 hits, 25 doubles, six triples, 58 walks and 11 steals behind a decent .250/.341/.443/.784 batting line.

Chris nearly hit his first postseason home run while the Cubs were on the road against the New York Mets during the National League Championship Game. The pitch that was on its way over the right field fence was snatched out of the air by speedy outfielder Curtis Granderson.

Surely, he’s looking forward to getting another shot at helping the Cubs reaching not only the N.L.C.S., but winning the World Series as well.

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