The Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins gained depth in their outfield this week with the addition of a couple of veterans. Each club settled contract issues with these players on Friday.
On Monday, the Cubs acquired outfielder Dexter Fowler from the Houston Astros. The 28-year-old entered this third year of arbitration eligibility this offseason and filed for a $10.8 million salary in 2015 last week before he was traded. The Astros countered with an $8.5 million offer and the two appeared to be heading to a February court hearing with the league's arbitration panel.
However, just four days after he was traded, Fowler agreed to a one-year, $9.5 million deal to avoid arbitration with Chicago, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Fowler will take over in center field and provide some veteran leadership for a young Cubs team. In his only season with the Astros, the switch-hitter slashed .276/.375/.399 with 61 runs scored, eight home runs, 35 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 116 games this past year.
Chicago sent third baseman Luis Valbuena ($4.2 million salary for 2015) and pitcher Dan Straily ($500,000) to the Astros in the deal, so they only added about $5 million to their payroll with Fowler's salary.
In Miami, the Marlins made a contract offer to Ichiro Suzuki on Wednesday night and now the two sides appear to be closing in on a deal and have agreed to terms, according to Craig Mish of SiriusXM Radio. The 14-year veteran accepted the team's one-year, $2 million contract, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, and he'll become the fourth outfielder on the Marlins' roster. He joins a young cast that consists of Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich.
It wasn't clear if Ichiro was willing to take such a big pay cut after earning $6.5 million in each of the past two seasons with the New York Yankees. Perhaps the idea of mentoring a group of young and talented outfielders appealed to him, or maybe there wasn't much of a market for him.
Nonetheless, he'll be taking his talents to South Beach to join a new-look Miami Marlins club that expects to compete in 2015. Ichiro slashed .284/.324/.340 with 42 runs scored, one home run, 22 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 143 games last season with New York (385 plate appearances).