A day removed from exchanging salary arbitration figures with the Cubs, the agent for outfielder Sammy Sosa said the team’s $4.9-million proposal was “very close to what I expected them to offer.”
One problem: Sosa wants $5.95 million.
“We pick a number that we can defend and the club picks a number that they can defend,” agent Adam Katz said of the arbitration process. “It’s winner-take-all from here.”
Sosa, along with Cubs pitcher Frank Castillo, shortstop Rey Sanchez and catcher Scott Servais, is one of 56 players who submitted salary figures Friday. Beginning Feb. 1 and running through Feb. 20, arbitrators will hear individual cases and select either the team’s offer or the player’s request. Negotiations can continue throughout the process and settlements can be reached before or after an arbitrator’s ruling.
The Cubs’ proposal to Sosa, who earned $4.3 million in 1995, was the highest offered to any player and is the third-highest since salary arbitration began in 1974. So, how impressed was Katz with the historical significance of it all?
“Not particularly,” he said.
Sosa, who hit 36 home runs and had 119 runs batted in, was one of only three players who filed salary requests of $5 million or more. The other two are Boston’s Mo Vaughn ($6.1 million) and Kansas City’s Kevin Appier ($5.387 million). Despite the $1.05-million difference between the Cubs’ offer and Sosa’s request, Katz said he is optmistic about reaching an agreement.
“Most of the cases settle and we’d like to settle it,” said Katz, who is pushing for a multiyear deal with the Cubs.
Two of the three remaining Cubs’ arbitration cases should be resolved soon. Sanchez, who made $675,000 last year, asked for $1.3 million and the Cubs offered $1.1 million. Servais, who earned $340,000 in 1995, requested $975,000 and the Cubs filed a $680,000 offer.
Meanwhile, Castillo and the Cubs are $980,000 apart after the team offered $1.2 million, compared with the $2.18 million the right-hander was asking. Castillo made $250,000 in salary last year.
