Cubs Make Offer to Bring Back Maddux

The Chicago Cubs would like Greg Maddux to finish where he started.

The Cubs offered Maddux a two-year deal Tuesday, thought to be worth $14 million to $15 million. Maddux made $14.75 million last year, his final season with the Atlanta Braves.

“We’ve always had an interest in Greg,” Cub General Manager Jim Hendry said. “He’s certainly earned the right to pitch wherever he wants.”

Maddux hadn’t given the Cubs an answer as of Wednesday, and Hendry said he expected the right-hander to take his time before deciding.

“We’re continuing to negotiate with about four, five teams,” Maddux’s agent, Scott Boras, said Tuesday.

Maddux pitched for Chicago for seven seasons, winning one of his four Cy Young Awards as a Cub.

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Sidney Ponson is returning to the Baltimore Orioles, who traded the right-hander in July in the midst of his finest season. Ponson and the Orioles agreed on a $22.5-million, three-year contract, which is $1.5 million more than the offer from Baltimore that he rejected before being dealt to the San Francisco Giants.

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Pitcher Ted Lilly, recently acquired from the Oakland Athletics, signed a $5-million, two-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.