In years past, the Cubs have dealt with a significant number of arbitration-eligible players, which can mean big increases in payroll as high performers near the ends of their rookie deals. Even if this was something I didn’t already understand quite clearly, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts provided an impromptu lesson in the lobby of the Loews Hotel in the wee hours of Saturday morning a few years back. This was at CubsCon, and we had just finished shooting the breeze with Mike Montgomery when I saw Crawly — who trainers PJ Mainville and Nick Frangella had been side-eyeing for quite a while — beelined it for Ricketts.
Cubs Have Very Small Pool of Arb-Eligible Players, Raises Appear Nominal
