Cubs and Prior Avoid Arbitration

Chicago Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry continued his free spending ways when the Cubs and Mark Prior were able to avoid arbitration and come to agreement on a one year deal. Since taking over as General Manager in 2002, Hendry has been able to avoid going to arbitration with any eligible player; always managing to get a deal in place before the often lengthy and sometimes adversarial arbitration process could begin.

Prior's one year deal is reportedly worth $3.575 million. This is $300,000 less than what Prior was asking for. The Cubs had originally offered $3.4 million. Coming off yet another injury plagued season that saw Prior make only 9 starts compiling 1-6 record to go with a 7.21ERA, the fifth year pitcher was in no real position to try and ask for an increase.

Prior who pitched for USC, was drafted with the second overall pick by the Cubs in 2001. He made his Major League debut in 2002, and when the Chicago faithful first saw him pitch, hopes of a World Series began floating around the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field once again. Those dreams almost came true when in his first full year in the Big Leagues, Prior helped lead the Cubs to within five outs of their first World Series appearance since 1945.

In his fiver years in the Majors, Mark Prior has put together a respectable 42-29 win loss record and an equally impressive 3.51 ERA in 106 career starts. These numbers have continued to wet the appetite of the Championship hungry Cubs fans. Prior has not played a full season since 2003 and even then he spent time on the disabled list. With his nagging injuries piling up, trade rumors began swirling during the 2005 off season when reports came out that a possible Mark Prior for Miguel Tejada deal with the Baltimore Orioles was in the works.