It's official: Cubs sign Steven Souza Jr. |
CHICAGO - The Chicago Cubs and outfielder Steven Souza Jr. have agreed to terms on a 2020 major league contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Chicago’s 40-man roster now stands at 40 players.
Souza, 30, is a career .233 hitter (371-for-1,590) with 68 doubles, 70 home runs, 198 RBI and 41 stolen bases in 471 major league games covering five seasons with the Washington Nationals (2014), Tampa Bay Rays (2015-17) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2018). He has a career .323 on-base percentage, 90 points higher than his batting average, and .417 slugging percentage, good for a .740 OPS. Souza has played 425 games in right field in his career while seeing limited time in center field (eight games) and left field (four games). The right-handed batter and thrower set career bests in 2017 when he tallied 30 home runs, 78 RBI, 21 doubles and 16 stolen bases in 148 games with the Rays, his most recent full major league campaign. He posted a .351 on-base percentage and .459 slugging percentage, an .810 OPS, while ranking tied for fifth in the American League with 84 walks to go along with his 53 extra-base hits. Following an off-season trade to Arizona in 2018, Souza was limited to 72 games that year due to a right pectoral injury and missed the entire 2019 campaign due to a significant left knee injury suffered at the end of spring training on March 25. He was non-tendered by the Diamondbacks on December 2. Souza was originally selected by Washington in the third round of the 2007 Draft out of Cascade High School in Everett, Washington. He made his major league debut with the Nationals in 2014 before joining the Rays as part of a three-team trade for three seasons starting in 2015. The #Cubs and OF Steven Souza Jr. have agreed to terms on a 2020 major league contract. pic.twitter.com/Nby7RSDSY2 Souza contract official:
Worth $1 million base salary
Plus potential bonuses for:
200 PA ($50k)
250 PA ($75k)
300 PA ($125k)
350 PA ($150k)
400 PA ($200k)
450 PA ($200k)
500 PA ($200k)
And $200k for each of the following: 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 days on active roster.
