The Cubs and pitcher Mark Prior have agreed on a one-year contract worth $3.575 million dollars.  Prior was asking for a raise from $3.65 million to $3.875 in arbitration.

Prior is coming off an injury-shortened season in which he was 1-6 with a 7.21 ERA in nine starts.  Since making his Major League debut in 2002, Prior owns a 42-29 career record with a 3.51 ERA in 106 starts. His 10.37 strikeouts per nine innings is the highest rate for any Cubs starter in franchise history (minimum 500 innings). Chicago selected Prior out of USC with the second overall pick in the 2001 First-Year Player Draft.

Look for the Cubs and Carlos Zambrano to sign a deal and not head to court over it.

The Chicago Cubs and Glendon Rusch are parting ways due to the Rusch’s health condition.  Glendon was shut down last year it was discovered that he had a life-threatning blod clot in his lung.

The clot was discovered when Rusch felt pain in his chest about 30 seconds into a workout at Wrigley Field in September. He was hospitalized for one week, and put on blood-thinning medication for a minimum of six months. The medication would not allow Rusch to play baseball because he couldn’t take the risk of getting hit.   If he did get hit in the chest he could have lost his life doctors say.

We all wish Glendon the best in the future, and hope he regains his health 100%!

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Well has it has been rumored for the past few months, Cliff Floyd is coming to the Chicago Cubs.  Floyd agreed on a one year contract with a mutual option for a second year and will be coming back to his hometown of Chicago.

Floyd, was limited to 332 at-bats last year because of an injured Achilles’ tendon and will likely serve as a backup with the Cubs.  The 34-year-old had surgery on his left foot in October, after hitting .244 with 11 homers and 44 RBIs.

I don’t mind this signing at all, he can fill in when needed in the outfield or at first base to give Lee a rest.  Hopefully though we won’t need him to play defenese and he can just be a pitch hitter for the team.

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Bad news for Cubs fans that only goto a few games at year.  At the Cubs Convention, the Cubs announced that they were raising single game tickets $2 each for regular seats, and $5 each on the premium seats.  Season Ticket holders prices were not going up however.

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Rumors are starting to heat up again about Cliff Floyd joining the Chicago Cubs this year.  Newspaper articles are reporting that the deal is for one year, with a club option for the another year.  Floyd is supposed to make up his decision this week, but all signs are pointing to him coming home and playing for the Cubbies.

Some notes from the first night of the Cubs convention was Zambrano giving Hendry a deadline for a contract extension, that Prior and Wood both could be ready by opening day, and every position is ready except center field.

Zambrano would like to get Barry Zito money he said, and wants the contract to be done before Opening Day.  If it isn’t, he will not talk extension during the season.  Which is a good thing, you don’t want a contract issue dragging on through the season as Big Z pitches every fifth day.

It would be great news if both Mark Prior and Kerry Wood were ready by opening day.  Wood will be in the bullpen and Prior will be going for a spot in the rotation.  I would love to see them both back helping the Cubbies win some ballgames!

Now onto the centerfield issue.  I was surpised to see Big Lou mention Ryan Theriot as a possible player in center if Jacque Jones is traded.  It could be Theriot, Jones, or young Felix Pie.  I would love to see Pie have a great spring training and be the starting centerfielder but I do not want them to do it if he isn’t 100% ready for the job.  We don’t need to bring up another young player and ruin their approach to the game like what happend to Patterson a few years ago.

Keep checking back for more updates from the Cubs Convention!

Great news for the Cubs as Jeff Samardzija their 5th round draft pick has decided to give up football to concentrate 100% on baseball.  Samardzija was expected to be a first round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft in April so this came to me as a little bit of a suprise.

He signed a contract for 5 years 10 million.  His deal includes a $2.5 million signing bonus and the Cubs hold options for a sixth and seventh seasons in 2012 and 2013. If the options are exercised, the deal would be worth $16.5 million over seven years.

I’m excited for Jeff and Cubs and can only hope he has a great season in the minor leagues and moves his way up through the rotation quickly!

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The good news from the Cubs Caravan yesterday was that Mark Prior has been throwing off the mound and making good progress this off-season.

Prior, is coming off an injury-shortened season in which he was 1-6 with a 7.21 ERA in nine starts. A shoulder injury hampered him, and he was forced to devote this offseason to rehab. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild said he talked to the right-hander every week for progress reports.

Getting a healthy Mark Prior back will be huge for the Cubs team.  He is a great start when healthy, and that is all we can hope for!  Good luck Mark, can’t wait to see you in action soon!

Yesterday, Cubs pitchers Carlos Zambrano and Mark Prior filed for arbitration.  Zambrano is asking for a club record $15.5 million in arbitration and Prior is asking for $3.875 million.  The Cubs have offered Zambrano a little over $11 million for a year contract even though they plan on working in a long term deal before the season starts.  Prior was offered $3.4 million so they are not too far off I expect them to agree on a contract soon.

If you are Jim Hendry, you get Zambrano to sign a 1 year contract right now for that $15 million, and then sign up to the 6 year 100 million deal that he is seeking.  Get the Big Z locked up and do not let him file for free agency.  We don’t want him to leave the team and win cy young awards with another team like Greg Maddux did with the Braves.

Arbitration hearings are from Feb. 1-20. The Cubs have not gone to a hearing with a player since 1993, preferring to settle near the midpoint of the two figures filed, though the $4.5 million gap between them and Zambrano may be difficult to bridge.

Earlier in the week, the Cubs avoided arbitration with Will Ohman who agreed on a new two year contract.

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The Chicago Cubs today announced that the club has agreed to a two-year deal through the 2008 season with left-handed pitcher Will Ohman.

Ohman, 29, set career-highs with 78 games pitched, 65.1 innings and 74 strikeouts with Chicago in 2006. He led the club by stranding 80.5-percent of his inherited runners (33-for-41) and limiting hitters to a .208 batting average. He held opponents scoreless in 63 of his 78 relief appearances and struck out at least one batter in 51 of his 78 outings.

I like the two year deal, but would not be suprised if he is traded if the Cubs have another bad year.  Playoff contenders are always seeking bullpen help and it doesn’t hurt that Ohman is left-handed.