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The Chicago Cubs and starting pitcher Jake Arrieta have reached an agreement on a one-year, physically pending contract, according to several reports on Friday, including Robert Murray of FanSided and Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Arrieta will join the club after last pitching for the Cubs in 2017, a year after winning a World Series with Chicago in 2016.
Arrieta is heading into his 35-year-old season and threw an average of 5.08 and 1.51 WHIP in nine starts last season for the Phillies. He has only withdrawn 32 goals walking 16 in 44 1/3 innings. During his three years in Philadelphia, Arrieta went from an ERA of 3.96 to 4.64 to 5.08 as his take-out rate plummeted and hit rate increased.
Behind Kyle Hendricks, Zach Davies and Alec Mills, Arrieta is expected to be next in line for a rotation spot. There is also Trevor Williams, Adbert Alzolay, Kohl Stewart, Shelby Miller and several others. Arrieta isn’t a sure thing to stick with either, despite the lack of a “wow” factor here.
Basically he signs a lottery ticket at this point.
It is however newsworthy due to the reunion aspect. Discover Arrieta’s three stages in her career:
- Orioles: 358 IP, 20-25, 5.46 ERA
- Small: 803 IP, 68-31, 2.73 ERA
- Phillies: 352 2/3 IP, 22-23, 4.36 ERA
He was traded to the Cubs in 2014 with Pedro Strop (who went on to become one of the most productive relievers in Cubs history) for Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger. He ended up making 25 starts in 2014 and many don’t realize how good he was on the mostly overlooked Cubs team that year. He even finished ninth in Cy Young’s vote.
The following season, Arrieta won the Cy Young after going 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 236 strikeouts in 229 innings. He has had four full games and two shutouts. From June 21 (a shutout in Minnesota) to the end of the regular season, Arrieta was 16-1 (the Cubs were 18-2) with a 0.86 ERA in 20 starts. He then threw a shutout in the wild card game.
Next season, Arrieta again finished ninth in Cy Young’s vote as the Cubs won the World Series. Arrieta won both of her World Series starts and even had a hit in the sixth of Game 2.
Again, this signature is mostly nostalgia, but who knows? Pitching for the Cubs is the only place where Arrieta has enjoyed sustained success in the majors. For all it’s worth – probably not much – Arrieta had a 1.43 ERA in 82 innings pitching to then wide receiver, now Cubs manager David Ross.
Arrieta and the Cubs are hoping the reunion here throws something loose.
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