The Cubs and 28-year-old reliever Pedro Strop have avoided arbitration with a one-year deal worth $1.325 million, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. This was Strop’s first year of arbitration eligibility.
The Cubs acquired Strop along with Jake Arrieta in a trade with the Orioles on July 2 last season. They sent Scott Feldman and Steve Clevinger to Baltimore. While Strop was awful in relief for the Orioles, posting a 7.25 ERA in 22 1/3 innings prior to the trade, he had much better results with the Cubs. In 35 innings with his new club, Strop posted a 2.83 ERA with a slight bump in his strikeout rate and markedly better control.
