The Chicago Cubs are going to have an arbitration hearing to settle Justin Grimm's salary for the 2018 season and normally this wouldn't be worth so much attention. Players and teams have arbitration hearings all the time. However, what makes Grimm's case unique is that Theo Epstein has never had to go to a hearing while being with the Cubs.
According to ESPN's Jess Rogers, Grimm and the Cubs could not agree on a number, as the two sides are less than $300,000 apart.
The Cubs settled with five players earlier in the offseason, including Kris Bryant, who is going to earn a record $10.85 million in 2018. Grimm, 29, is out of minor-league options. The right-handed reliever struggled out of the Cubs bullpen in 2017, recording a 5.53 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 55.1 innings. Again, the current front office hasn't ever gone to an arbitration hearing, so it'll be interesting if we ever find out why that happened. Was it from the Cubs' side, or did Grimm not want to negotiate? It seems pretty silly to not come to an agreement over $275,000, but who knows what the story is here. Grimm isn't a lock to make the Cubs bullpen out of spring training and after a bad season that hearing could be a little awkward. Remember, the team is literally arguing why a player doesn't deserve whatever salary he is asking for. Bleacher Nation offered up this reasonable explanation as to why we're seeing this with the Cubs and Grimm.
The implication, supported by various reports in the past week, is that some players have decided they were going to go to arbitration no matter what as part of the current climate. That said, there were also whispers that a huge volume of teams were switching to file-and-trial (i.e., if no settlement before the exchange of salary figures back in January, the case is going to arbitration), so it’s possible we’re seeing some of that, too.If Grimm doesn't make the team, then the Cubs will only be responsible for about $300,000-$400,000 of his salary.
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