Paul Maholm, Cubs Agree On $4.25 Million Deal

The Chicago Cubs have agreed to terms with former Pirates pitcher Paul Maholm on a one-year contract. Here are the terms:

Breaking news; Chicago Cubs sign LHP Paul Maholm to a 1 yr 4.25 million deal with club opt 6,5 for 2013. 500k B out

Pirates fans argued this offseason over the Bucs' Maholm's $9 million option for 2012, which the Pirates ultimately declined. I thought the Bucs should have picked it up -- Maholm is a solid and relatively reliable mid-rotation pitcher whose value has been partially masked by some of the awful defenses the Bucs have run out over the years. This deal shows that the market didn't agree with me, but I still don't see how this isn't a steal for a relatively young player who's very likely to pitch 180 solid innings. I'm also not sure why the Pirates weren't able to convince Maholm to come back to Pittsburgh for slightly more than this -- with their house-of-cards rotation, they could really use him.

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