Cubs, Valbuena avoid arbitration

The Chicago Cubs and infielder Luis Valbuena agreed to a one-year deal worth $930K, Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald reported.

Valbuena, 27, hit .219/.310/.340 with 20 doubles and four home runs in 303 plate appearances last season. Valbuena was claimed off of waivers from the Blue Jays in April of 2012. He played 82 games at third base after being recalled when Ian Stewart injured his wrist in June. Stewart was also re-signed by the Cubs to a one-year, $2 million contract earlier in the offseason.

For his career, Valbuena is a .224/.292/.343 hitter with 17 home runs in 1,109 plate appearances over five major league seasons. His best season was in 2009 when he hit .250/.298/.416 with 10 homers for the Indians. He has also played for the Mariners.

After signing Valbuena, the Cubs have three remaining arbitration eligible players in Matt Garza, James Russell and Jeff Samardzija.

The Cubs also signed Brent Lillibridge and Darnell McDonald.