Cubs, Ruggiano agree to 1-year deal

Posted January 29, 2014 4:03 pm

By Bruce Miles

The Cubs keep whittling down their list of unsigned arbitration-eligible players.

On Wednesday, they signed outfielder Justin Ruggiano to a one-year deal worth $2 million. Ruggiano had been seeking $2.45 million while the Cubs were offering $1.6 million.

The Cubs obtained the 31-year-old Ruggiano Dec. 12 in a trade with the Miami Marlins in exchange for outfielder Brian Bogusevic. Last year in 128 games, the right-handed hitting Ruggiano had a line of .222/.298/.396 with 18 home runs and 50 RBI. He has a lifetime OPS of .747 and 37 home runs over parts of five seasons. The Cubs likely will platoon him in center field with Ryan Sweeney.

Still to be signed are No. 1 starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija and second baseman Darwin Barney. Samardzija is seeking $6.2 million while the Cubs are offering $4.4 million. Barney is asking for $2.8 million, and the Cubs’ offer is $1.8 million. The Cubs also have agreed to terms with arbitration-eligible players James Russell, Pedro Strop, Travis Wood, Luis Valbuena and Nate Schierholtz.

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