The Chicago Cubs and Sean Marshall have agreed upon a 2-year deal worth $4.7 million.  The deal means that the 2 sides will avoid arbitration.

Marshall had a stellar 2010 campaign as the Cubs most reliable reliever next to Carlos Marmol.  Marshall won 7 games and had a 2.65 ERA.  Opponents scored in only 14 of the 80 games that Marshall pitched during the 2010 MLB schedule.  Marshall’s 80 games pitched and 90 K’s were both career highs.  Marshall earned $950,000 in 2010 and the new deal buys out the last 2 arbitration years that he had.  Marshall will be a free agent for the 1st time after the 2012 MLB season.

This is great news for Cubs fans.  Marshall is a quality pitcher and the 2-year deal takes a little bit of the guess work out of next year.  If he continues to excel, who knows, maybe the Cubs will try to lock him up for a few more years after that during the middle of the 2012 season…