Cubs lose 8-7 to the A's; Agree to deals with 24 players; Bunting tournament continues

The Cubs lost their second Cactus League game, 8-7 to the Oakland Athletics today.  Ryan Dempster started for the Cubs and allowed one run over two innings.  Blake DeWitt hit a 3-run home run in the second inning to give the Cubs a 3-1 lead.  Darwin Barney, Steve Clevenger, Blake Lalli, and Josh Vitters each had RBIs in today's game.

Ryan Dempster had his spring debut for the Cubs today

The Cubs agreed to contracts with 24 players on the 40-man roster who have had 3 years or less of Major League service.  The league minimum salary this year is $480,000.  Five of those 24 Cubs players have agreed to deals over $500,000 and they are: Jeff Samardzija at $2.64 million, James Russell at $512,000, Starlin Castro at $567,000, Darwin Barney at $500,000, and Travis Wood at $505,000.

The full list of players who agreed to deals are:

Right-handed pitchers:  Alberto Cabrera, Lendy Castillo, Casey Coleman, Rafael Dolis, Marcos Mateo, Jeff Samardzija, and Casey Weathers.

Left-handed pitchers:  Jeff Beliveau, John Gaub, Scott Maine, James Russell, and Travis Wood.

Catchers:  Wellington Castillo and Steve Clevenger.

Infielders: Darwin Barney, Adrian Cardenas, Starlin Castro, Bryan LaHair, Junior Lake, Anthony Rizzo, and Josh Vitters.

Outfielders:  Tony Campana, Dave Sappelt, and Matt Szczur.

The Cubs Bunting Tournament continued into Round 3 today, where Wellington Castillo, Adrian Cardenas, Casey Coleman, and Jeff Beliveau advanced, while Steve Clevenger, Blake Lalli, Chris Rusin, and Trey McNutt were eliminated.

The Cubs will play their next Cactus League game tomorrow at 2:05pm against the Colorado Rockies at HoHoKam Park.  The broadcast can be heard on WGN Radio.  One month from today is Cubs Opening Day!!