Report: Cubs to non-tender Rondon

Hector Rondon appears to be hitting free agency.

The Chicago Cubs will not tender the reliever a contract for 2018 ahead of Friday's deadline, a source tells ESPN's Jesse Rogers.

Rondon was entering his final year of arbitration, and was projected to make $6.2 million next season. A former Rule 5 draft pick by the Cubs in 2012, the right-hander has spent all five of his major-league seasons in Chicago.

This does not necessarily spell the end of Rondon's tenure with the Cubs, as the team could still sign him to a new contract.

While he struggled with command in 2017, Rondon was the primary ninth-inning option for the club between 2014 and 2016 - outside Aroldis Chapman's brief tenure - saving 77 games. For his career, he's gone 18-13 with a 3.22 ERA and 1.127 WHIP over 296 1/3 relief innings.