Bruce Levine of ESPN reports today that talks have broken down between the Cubs and Ryan Theriot and that the two sides will be taking their battle before an arbitrator sometime between Feb 8th and 20th.
As I stated yesterday, if the Cubs are offering Theriot anywhere between $2.8 and $3.0 million, Theriot should take the money...because it's still going to be more than he actually is worth as a first year, arbitration eligible player.
This will be the first time the Cubs have gone to an arbitration hearing with any player since 1993, and I believe that was with Mark Grace. The Cubs won that decision if memory serves me right. (I'm too lazy to research right now.)
The Cubs aren't going to go before an arbitrator if they didn't think they had a good case.
And I said this yesterday too...this should leave a sour taste in the mouth of Cubs management.
Theriot should be put up on the trade market in the middle of this season.
Good luck, Ryan. You're going to need it.
