CHICAGO (AP) – The Chicago Cubs have offered salary arbitration to free agents Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena.

The players have until Nov. 30 to accept. If they decline and sign elsewhere, the Cubs would be entitled to compensatory picks in the amateur draft next June.

Ramirez’s agent has already said his client will not return to the Cubs. The third baseman batted .306 last season with 26 homers and 93 RBIs.

Pena, who played under a one-year, $10 million deal last season,
hit .225 with 28 homers and 80 RBIs while playing a stellar first base.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs have offered salary arbitration to free agents Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena.

The players have until Nov. 30 to accept. If they decline and sign elsewhere, the Cubs would be entitled to compensatory picks in the amateur draft next June.

Ramirez’s agent has already said his client will not return to the Cubs. The third baseman batted .306 last season with 26 homers and 93 RBIs.

Pena, who played under a one-year, $10 million deal last season, hit .225 with 28 homers and 80 RBIs while playing a stellar first base.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Aramis Ramirez(notes) has been with the Chicago Cubs since 2003 so he seems to be enjoying the idea of spreading his wings in free agency a little bit. His agent, Paul Kinzer, said Monday that his client is looking for a four-year deal wherever he signs next (or at least a three-year deal with the option of a fourth), according to Fox Sports.

It appears highly unlikely that the 33-year-old Ramirez will return to the Cubs next season, according to MLB.com. He hit .306 with 26 homers and 35 doubles there last season, picking up his first Silver Slugger award. He also earned 14 errors while playing third, a far cry from the 33 he had in 2003 when playing for the Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates.

“There’s no problems there, but it’s the point where it’s the end of an era,” Kinzer said of Ramirez returning to Chicago, MLB.com reports. “They have some things they have to do, and at this point in his career, [Rafael Furcal(notes)] got his ring, and now ‘Ramy’ wants his. He wants to go somewhere where he has a shot at a competitive team. He loves Chicago and it hurts for him to leave, but that’s part of the sport.”

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Source: FOX Sports

Related: Rafael Furcal, Aramis Ramirez, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Starlin Castro and Matt Garza have been bright spots in an otherwise dismal season for the Chicago Cubs.

Castro had two singles to extend his NL-leading total to 206 hits and Garza won his 10th game as the Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 6-2 on Tuesday night in a matchup of 90-game losers. Alfonso Soriano hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the eighth inning.

Castro has 12 more hits than Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers. On Wednesday, Castro will become the youngest player ever to lead the NL in hits in a season, at 21 years, 188 days. He’ll also become the third Cubs player in seven seasons to lead the NL in hits, joining Juan Pierre (2006) and Derrek Lee (2005).

Castro reached base for the 39th straight game, extending his career-high streak.

Garza, obtained in an offseason trade with Tampa Bay, finished 10-10 with a 3.32 ERA. He had been sick on Monday night and the Cubs sent him back to the hotel.

“Come hell or high water he was going to pitch,” manager Mike Quade said. “It was an excellent effort.”

Soriano homered off the base of the batter’s eye in straightaway center field against Chad Qualls (6-8), giving the Cubs a 4-2 lead. Aramis Ramirez, who homered in the fourth, reached on a leadoff walk before being replaced by Tony Campana, and Bryan LaHair walked with one out ahead of Soriano’s 26th homer.

“A normal human being would have hit that on the ground,” Qualls said. “Soriano hits it 420 feet.”

Garza tied his career high with his fourth straight win. He allowed two runs and five hits, struck out eight and walked two in seven innings.

“It is what it is. I had a chance at the end,” Garza said. “I’m happy the way it ended. I’m not happy we’re not playing in October, but I’m just going to take what I did and let it keep rolling into the offseason and get ready for next season.”

The loss clinched last place in the NL West for the Padres (70-91). They won 90 games in 2010, but took a face-plant this season after trading All-Star slugger Adrian Gonzalez to the Boston Red Sox in December.

Ramirez hit a drive to straightaway center leading off the fourth against rookie Anthony Bass, his 26th.

Chicago’s Blake DeWitt added a pinch-hit, two-run single in the ninth.

San Diego’s Kyle Blanks hit a two-run double in the second.

Bass, who started the season in Double-A, held the Cubs to one run and five hits in five innings.

“For the most part I was pleased,” Bass said. “I made a couple of mistakes that they hit hard.”

NOTES: Castro extended his hitting streak to 10 games, his fifth double-digit streak of the season. … The season ends Wednesday night when Cubs RHP Ryan Dempster (10-13, 4.53 ERA) faces LHP Wade LeBlanc (4-6, 4.83). Dempster is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 36 strikeouts in his last four starts against San Diego. LeBlanc will be facing the Cubs for the first time. In a 2-0 win at Colorado in his last start, LeBlanc struck out a career-high 10, the most strikeouts by a Padres pitcher this season.

The San Diego Padres went from 90 wins to 91 losses, from a riveting pennant race to a ponderous season largely devoid of highlights.
Starlin Castro had two singles to extend his NL-leading total to 206 hits, Alfonso Soriano hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the eighth inning and the Chicago Cubs beat the Padres 6-2 on Tuesday night in a matchup of 90-game losers.
The loss clinched last place in the NL West for the Padres (70-91). They won 90 games in 2010, but took a face-plant this season after trading All-Star slugger Adrian Gonzalez to the Boston Red Sox in December.
“Expectations are high every year for every club, and we’re not excluded from that,” manager Bud Black said. “We had a good year last year. This year we didn’t. It’s disappointing because we felt as though we had a chance to contend with the rest of the clubs. We just didn’t play well enough to do that.”
Castro has 12 more hits than Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers. On Wednesday, Castro will become the youngest player ever to lead the NL in hits in a season, at 21 years, 188 days. He’ll also become the third Cubs player in seven seasons to lead the NL in hits, joining Juan Pierre (2006) and Derrek Lee (2005).
Castro reached base for the 39th straight game, extending his career-high streak.
Soriano homered off the base of the batter’s eye in straightaway center field against Chad Qualls (6-8), giving the Cubs a 4-2 lead. Aramis Ramirez, who homered in the fourth, reached on a leadoff walk before being replaced by Tony Campana, and Bryan LaHair walked with one out ahead of Soriano’s 26th homer.
Ramirez hit a drive to straightaway center leading off the fourth against rookie Anthony Bass, his 26th.
Chicago’s Blake DeWitt added a pinch-hit, two-run single in the ninth.
Matt Garza (10-10) tied his career high with his fourth straight win. He allowed two runs and five hits, struck out eight and walked two in seven innings.
San Diego’s Kyle Blanks hit a two-run double in the second.
Bass, who started the season in Double-A, held the Cubs to one run and five hits in five innings.
“I liked the way he mixed his pitches,” Black said of Bass, who will have a chance to earn a spot in the rotation next season. “We’re seeing improvement in the fastball command. We’re seeing more confidence in the slider and changeup for strikes. We’re seeing a guy with more poise and composure on the mound. A guy who to me, looks like he belongs.”
NOTES: Castro extended his hitting streak to 10 games, his fifth double-digit streak of the season. … The season ends Wednesday night when Cubs RHP Ryan Dempster (10-13, 4.53 ERA) faces LHP Wade LeBlanc (4-6, 4.83). Dempster is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 36 strikeouts in his last four starts against San Diego. LeBlanc will be facing the Cubs for the first time. In a 2-0 win at Colorado in his last start, LeBlanc struck out a career-high 10, the most strikeouts by a Padres pitcher this season.