The Cubs whittled their list of salary arbitration cases down to one Friday after signing catcher Scott Servais to a one-year contract.
Terms of the deal weren’t immediately available, but Servais, who earned $340,000 last season, had submitted a $975,000 arbitration figure and the Cubs$680,000 . The new deal averts a Feb. 8 arbitration hearing.
Servais, 28, who came to the Cubs last June in a trade with the Houston Astros, set career highs with 13 homers, 47 runs batted in and a .265 batting average.
The only remaining arbitration-eligible Cub is pitcher Frank Castillo, who wants $2.18 million compared with the $1.2 million the team is offering. Castillo, whose hearing is scheduled for Feb. 13 in New York, earned $250,000 in salary last year.
“We’re just trying to avoid a hearing if we can and do our best to get him signed,” said Cubs General Manager Ed Lynch. “We’re confident that we can do so.”
