Cubs Sign Matt Stairs

First baseman Matt Stairs and the Chicago Cubs agreed Tuesday to a $3.2 million, one-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration.

Stairs, 32, was traded from the Oakland Athletics on Nov. 20 for minor league right-hander Eric Ireland. Stairs, who is eligible for free agency after next season, made $3.05 million this year with the A's, who declined a $4 million option and gave him a $150,000 buyout.

Stairs, a left-handed batter, has played in the majors with Montreal, Boston and Oakland. In 690 major league games, he has batted .267 with 123 home runs and 409 RBIs. He hit a career-high 38 home runs in 1999, tying for eighth in the American League.

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