Chicago Cubs And Mark Prior Agree To One Year Contract
By Michael Williams (3/2/2007)
Mike Prior and Chicago Cubs have finally reached an agreement. They have agreed to a one year deal thereby avoiding salary arbitration. Prior will be paid $3,575,000 and if he makes 27 and 30 starts, he will be paid an additional $150,000.
Prior is 26 years old and he is a right-hander. Last season he earned $3.65 million. However, he was troubled by a bad shoulder and went for 1-6 with a 7.21 ERA in 9 starts. Initially Prior had asked for $3,875,000 while the Cubs offered him $3.4 million.
During the Cubs’ winter convention, Prior said that the last few years had been tough for him but he is looking forward to 2007 and is trying to put everything else behind him.
In 2003, Prior was 18-6 and was on the mound when the Cubs came within five outs of reaching the World Series. Prior made his major league debut in 2002. Since then, he is 42-29 with 3.51 ERA in 106 starts. He has struck out 757 in 657 innings, giving him an average of 10.37 per nine innings.
The Cubs have given a boost to their batting order by signing Alfonso Soriano. They have also strengthened their starting pitchers with Jason Marquis and Ted Lilly.
Prior knows that he cannot change what happened in the last three years with all the unfortunate incidents but he is not making excuses for his performance. Now he has been given a second chance by the Cubs and he is bound to make sure of this opportunity to prove his mettle. |