Arrieta, Wood among key Cubs to be tendered contracts

Expect no surprises on the Cubs' part Wednesday, the deadline for major-league clubs to tender 2016 contracts to their players.

Players with three to five years of big-league service time are eligible for salary arbitration, and the biggest names in that category on the Cubs roster are ace starting pitcher Jake Arrieta and left-handed reliever Travis Wood.

The Cubs seem likely to tender all nine of their arbitration-eligible players. In addition to Arrieta and Wood, those players are pitchers Rex Brothers, Ryan Cook, Justin Grimm, Clayton Richard, Hector Rondon and Pedro Strop, and outfielder Chris Coghlan.

Cook came to the Cubs from Boston last month in a waiver claim, and Brothers came via a recent trade with the Colorado Rockies.

Arrieta will be due for a huge raise from the $3.63 million he was paid this year, when he went 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA and won the Cy Young Award.

Wood made a good transition from starter to reliever in 2015, and although there might have been some uncertainty about his status for next season, the Cubs are likely to tender him a contract. Wood made $5.685 million this past season. He went 5-4 with a 3.84 ERA with 4 saves during the regular season before making 6 postseason appearances.

Despite some up-and-down moments, Strop and Rondon were anchors of the bullpen in the late innings, with Rondon collecting 30 saves.

Players not tendered contracts become free agents and may sign with any team, including their previous club.

Like the previous Cubs management team, current president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer are averse to arbitration hearings, preferring to settle ahead of the February process.

• Follow Bruce's Cubs reports on Twitter@BruceMiles2112.