Cubs tender arbitration-eligible Happ, Contreras contracts originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
MLB's tender deadline came and went Tuesday without the drama experienced on the North Side a year ago.
The Cubs announced they've tendered 2022 contracts to catcher Willson Contreras and outfielder Ian Happ, both of whom are eligible for arbitration this winter.
The Cubs also announced they non-tendered outfielder Michael Hermosillo and reliever Adam Morgan — who are not arbitration-eligible this winter.
A year after non-tendering 2016 champs Kyle Schwarber and Albert Almora, the Cubs' only real decision Tuesday was whether they'd tender Happ a contract. He looked like a potential non-tender candidate through the first four months of 2021 amid an extended slump before a strong finish to the season post-trade deadline.
Through July 31 (93 games), Happ was hitting .180/.294/.326 with 10 home runs and 26 RBIs with 90 strikeouts in 312 plate appearances.
From Aug. 1 on (55 games), he hit .288/.363/.581 with 15 homers, 40 RBIs and 66 strikeouts in 223 plate appearances.
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Happ, who's projected by MLB Trade Rumors to make $6.5 million in 2022, is arbitration-eligible through 2023 and Contreras ($8.7 million) through 2022.
Hermosillo and Adam could make sense as candidates to return to the Cubs on minor-league deals. Hermosillo can play all three outfield spots and showed an ability to hit for power in a small sample size in 2021 (.500 slugging percentage in 38 plate appearances).
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Adam rejoined the Cubs in September after sustaining a gruesome ankle injury with Triple-A Iowa in May. He didn't allow a run (one hit) in three appearances, striking out six.
In total, the Cubs tendered contracts Tuesday to 30 players on the 40-man roster. Twenty-eight of the 30 are not arbitration-eligible.
The 40-man roster stands at 35.
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