Jake Arrieta

[NOMAAM]

I can only see the brewers realistically being in on Cobb with a muti-yr deal at this point.

[brwrsfan]

I think the longer these SP hang out on the FA market, the better chance the Brewers have at actually signing one of them to a reasonable-ish contract.

 

It seems teams are really playing hardball this year and the biggest of spenders aren't spending money. I'm not sure if I want it to happen or not, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the Brewers wind up with one of Arrieta, Cobb or Lynn.

[TURBO]

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Cubs have "barely engaged" in contract talks with free agent starting pitcher Jake Arrieta.

 

Nightengale goes so far as to say that a reunion between Arrieta and the Cubs is as "unlikely as a Bill Belichick comedy show." Well then. He also reports that other teams seem concerned about the lack of contact; wondering if Chicago knows something about the 31-year-old's health. Arrieta went 14-10 for the Cubs in 2017, registering a 3.53 ERA and striking out 163 batters in 168 1/3 innings.

 

Source: USA TodayFeb 7 - 4:04 PM

[badger3034]

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Cubs have "barely engaged" in contract talks with free agent starting pitcher Jake Arrieta.

 

Nightengale goes so far as to say that a reunion between Arrieta and the Cubs is as "unlikely as a Bill Belichick comedy show." Well then. He also reports that other teams seem concerned about the lack of contact; wondering if Chicago knows something about the 31-year-old's health. Arrieta went 14-10 for the Cubs in 2017, registering a 3.53 ERA and striking out 163 batters in 168 1/3 innings.

 

Source: USA TodayFeb 7 - 4:04 PM

 

If I were to guess, it would be the price tag. The guy won a Cy Young award 3 years ago, and it isn't like his stuff fell off the map. He is still a good pitcher, contrary to what some of the people on this forum believe. I'm sure the guy is asking for the moon and teams aren't surrendering to it. If you're applying for a job, you might be asked what salary you feel you deserve, and they'll counter with what they feel is the proper amount. The problem is, he isn't changing his price tag. This is mostly due to his agent, obviously, and in my opinion, it's possible that this could cost a lot of players a lot of money. I think there will be a lot of players going into the season that won't be signed, and each game that goes by will cost them cash. I think as the start of the season gets closer, some of these guys will realize that and just take whats given to them. Maybe it's because I haven't won the lottery yet, but if I have multiple millions of dollars on the table offered to me, I'm not going to just let that slip away. This is pretty anti-climactic and annoying as fans, but I think we still have another few weeks to go until we start to see players surrender to the fact that they aren't going to get an Alex Rodriguez type contract.

 

Also, where can I get a Brewer logo that's a small enough size for my avatar? Noob question...

[Warning Track Power]

Arrieta just seems like the kind of guy that will stick it to the Cubs every time he plays them. The issue will of course be what he will pitch like in the other 30 games per season he pitches in.

 

I'll be honest...I am kind of, sort of, hoping the Brewers roll the dice and sign him. While its risky, the side benefit likely means the Brewers will keep Woodruff and Burnes. Scary signing for sure but would keep the farm together.

[brewmann04]

looks like this is going into Spring training before anything gets done.

[anglotiger]

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Cubs have "barely engaged" in contract talks with free agent starting pitcher Jake Arrieta.

 

Nightengale goes so far as to say that a reunion between Arrieta and the Cubs is as "unlikely as a Bill Belichick comedy show." Well then. He also reports that other teams seem concerned about the lack of contact; wondering if Chicago knows something about the 31-year-old's health. Arrieta went 14-10 for the Cubs in 2017, registering a 3.53 ERA and striking out 163 batters in 168 1/3 innings.

 

Source: USA TodayFeb 7 - 4:04 PM

 

Hmmmm... didn't someone here speculate that almost a week ago...?

[MrTPlush]

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Cubs have "barely engaged" in contract talks with free agent starting pitcher Jake Arrieta.

 

Nightengale goes so far as to say that a reunion between Arrieta and the Cubs is as "unlikely as a Bill Belichick comedy show." Well then. He also reports that other teams seem concerned about the lack of contact; wondering if Chicago knows something about the 31-year-old's health. Arrieta went 14-10 for the Cubs in 2017, registering a 3.53 ERA and striking out 163 batters in 168 1/3 innings.

 

Source: USA TodayFeb 7 - 4:04 PM

 

Hmmmm... didn't someone here speculate that almost a week ago...?

 

I think people have been speculating that on this forum for about half a year now when it was reported the Cubs seemed unlikely to resign him.

[82brewcrew82]

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Cubs have "barely engaged" in contract talks with free agent starting pitcher Jake Arrieta.

 

Nightengale goes so far as to say that a reunion between Arrieta and the Cubs is as "unlikely as a Bill Belichick comedy show." Well then. He also reports that other teams seem concerned about the lack of contact; wondering if Chicago knows something about the 31-year-old's health. Arrieta went 14-10 for the Cubs in 2017, registering a 3.53 ERA and striking out 163 batters in 168 1/3 innings.

 

Source: USA TodayFeb 7 - 4:04 PM

 

Hmmmm... didn't someone here speculate that almost a week ago...?

 

I think people have been speculating that on this forum for about half a year now when it was reported the Cubs seemed unlikely to resign him.

A quick look at the OP of this very thread, which was before Thanksgiving will tell you that this was not a new concept a week ago.

[MNBrew]

I remain torn on Arrieta. He wasn't Superman last year but was still pretty good and ended strong. He may (or may not) be better than Darvish, but he's probably better than Lynn or Cobb, plus he's a fitness freak so may well have better than average health going for him.

 

. . . And on the other hand, will he prove over the life of his upcoming contract to be worth the very large figure he likely signs for, and why would the Cubs, who could use another strong SP, seemingly make so little effort (at least that we know of) to re-sign him?

 

There are some things that suggest he just might be the most productive FA SP on this winter's market (removing cost/value from the equation, just on-field performance). Yet other things could be pointing to his career being on the downslope.

 

It's easy to play this safe and walk away, letting others take on this risk. Yet Arrieta could end up being the guy who helps put a very good team over the top.

 

Maybe Stearns isn't so torn. I'd love to know what he's thinking right now re: the whole available SP landscape. Just knowing who he's checked in on wouldn't matter much since he's apparently checked in on every available SP with a pulse.

[anglotiger]

Hmmmm... didn't someone here speculate that almost a week ago...?

 

I think people have been speculating that on this forum for about half a year now when it was reported the Cubs seemed unlikely to resign him.

A quick look at the OP of this very thread, which was before Thanksgiving will tell you that this was not a new concept a week ago.

 

I'm sorry - I'm not trying to be critical in return but was that really necessary...?

[82brewcrew82]

A quick look at the OP of this very thread, which was before Thanksgiving will tell you that this was not a new concept a week ago.

 

I'm sorry - I'm not trying to be critical in return but was that really necessary...?

Is that to me? If so I'm not sure what the issue is. You made a comment that someone speculated on this a week ago. I simply pointed out that this board has been speculating on this for months. What is offensive about that?

[anglotiger]

I'm sorry - I'm not trying to be critical in return but was that really necessary...?

Is that to me? If so I'm not sure what the issue is. You made a comment that someone speculated on this a week ago. I simply pointed out that this board has been speculating on this for months. What is offensive about that?

 

Not offensive, it just came across as unnecessarily critical, as if the fact that it has been discussed here for some time was reason for me to not express my amusement that Nightingale is reporting it now as if it's "news". I mean it really didn't matter if it had been a week, a month or a year - he's still not breaking news in the way that he's pretending to, and I find that funny...

 

I apologize if I misinterpreted your intent in the comment.

[82brewcrew82]

I'm sorry - I'm not trying to be critical in return but was that really necessary...?

Is that to me? If so I'm not sure what the issue is. You made a comment that someone speculated on this a week ago. I simply pointed out that this board has been speculating on this for months. What is offensive about that?

 

Not offensive, it just came across as unnecessarily critical, as if the fact that it has been discussed here for some time was reason for me to not express my amusement that Nightingale is reporting it now as if it's "news". I mean it really didn't matter if it had been a week, a month or a year - he's still not breaking news in the way that he's pretending to, and I find that funny...

 

I apologize if I misinterpreted your intent in the comment.

I was just responding the two comments above mine. As in "a week ha ha, try three months ha ha". Relax. If everyone is going to take offense to every little thing that is posted this is going to get ugly real quick.

[pogokat]

I'm sorry - I'm not trying to be critical in return but was that really necessary...?

Is that to me? If so I'm not sure what the issue is. You made a comment that someone speculated on this a week ago. I simply pointed out that this board has been speculating on this for months. What is offensive about that?

 

Not offensive, it just came across as unnecessarily critical, as if the fact that it has been discussed here for some time was reason for me to not express my amusement that Nightingale is reporting it now as if it's "news". I mean it really didn't matter if it had been a week, a month or a year - he's still not breaking news in the way that he's pretending to, and I find that funny...

 

I apologize if I misinterpreted your intent in the comment.

I was just responding the two comments above mine. As in "a week ha ha, try three months ha ha". Relax. If everyone is going to take offense to every little thing that is posted this is going to get ugly real quick.

 

You don’t need to respond to every post. Don’t tell people to relax. Not responding at all is the best solution 99% of the time when you think there is a misunderstanding online.

[brewcrewdue80]

Arrieta it's simply regression. His velocity if you believe everyone got an uptick in FBs well his was down 1.2mph from '16 and 2.5MPH from '15. That's massive. His 2nd best pitch his cutter down to 88MPH 2.5MPH lower than '15. 56% ground ball rate to 45% use that flip and it went to Fly Balls.

 

Regression and it's a lot. Unless he finds his velocity he's done ever being an Ace or heck even a #2 quality. I promise he will have the worst season of the top 4 SP FAs in '18. (when avg BWAR and FWAR) Being a workout freak didn't help his velocity dropping each of the last 2 seasons. Just stay far away.

[JohnBriggs12]

I believe his velocity came back up a tick in the 2nd half, but the real reason the Cubs and other teams have stayed away from him is that Boras is holding out for 6/150 range. That isn't happening. He logged 240 total innings in 2015 and 220 in 2016. That's a heavy workload. I think he can still be very effective as a 6 inning starter for a few years but you don't pay those guys $25 million a year. Somebody will eventually give him 5 years in the 90-100 million range when they suspect Boras is ready to accept reality and he'll sign. My guess is his offers now are all in the 4 for 80 range. I'm sure there's a level that Stearns would jump in and maybe go with that 5th year, but that's at least a month off.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Arrieta's struggles last season were probably more a product of his innings load from 2015 and 2016, which were much higher than any prior years of his career. They rode him to a NLCS and WS title those two years. Briggs' IP totals in the previous post don't even include the playoff innings he pitched those two years. He's not going to get what him and Boras are asking for, and that's why nobody has signed him. Arrieta put up unicorn numbers for ~2 seasons from in 2015-2016, but he doesn't have a Kershaw-like body of work to command 25 million + per season for at least 1/2 a decade at his age.

 

And I agree, the Cubs are apprehensive to sign him because they already have Lester locked in as their over 30 declining veteran starter with a crazy contract, Heyward is an albatross, and a bunch of their young core is going to start getting much more expensive via arbitration. They're going to need to do some payroll gymnastics with their current roster to avoid sustained luxury tax issues the next few seasons, let alone adding to it via more free agent signings.

[Boomer5]

If the Cubs, who desperately need a starting pitcher, don't want him we don't either and that is that.

 

It's literally that simple.

[young guns]

They may want him back, but maybe they feel darvish is better, and they get a draft pick if someone else signs arrieta, and so they are focusing on him instead. If darvish signs elsewhere and the cubs then continue to ignore arrieta, then I would be worried about signing him.

[DR28]

If the Cubs, who desperately need a starting pitcher, don't want him we don't either and that is that.

 

It's literally that simple.

 

They desperately need a SP????????????

 

Lester/Hendricks/Quintana/Chatwood/Montgomery

 

Far from a need.............

[82brewcrew82]

If the Cubs, who desperately need a starting pitcher, don't want him we don't either and that is that.

 

It's literally that simple.

It seems like your saying that every FA pitcher that doesn't sign with their old team is damaged goods? I don't think the Cubs are all that desperate for a starter either.

[KeithStone53151]

If the Cubs, who desperately need a starting pitcher, don't want him we don't either and that is that.

 

It's literally that simple.

 

They desperately need a SP????????????

 

Lester/Hendricks/Quintana/Chatwood/Montgomery

 

Far from a need.............

 

Well first off, Chatwood is a big question mark and Montgomery probably can't handle a full season starter workload. Second, they have basically 0 depth in case of injury. Maybe they return Eddie Butler and his less than 5 k/9, but who would come after that? I honestly don't know who their 7th starter would be, mlb.com depth charts lists drew smyly who probably won't be ready until the all star break or even later. 3 of their 5 starters listed have significant injury history, so they'll probably need to have more than 1 SP option in AAA. At the absolute bare minimum, the Cubs need to find a somewhat established guy or 3 that will take a minor league deal with spring training invite and convince this guy to stick around in the minors for at least a few months. That's probably what Matt Garza is looking at if he wants to pitch again. I'm sure there will be plenty of those types to go around, and Chicago will be a popular place for those types of pitchers to sign considering all factors.

[MadScientist]

If the Cubs, who desperately need a starting pitcher, don't want him we don't either and that is that.

 

It's literally that simple.

It seems like your saying that every FA pitcher that doesn't sign with their old team is damaged goods? I don't think the Cubs are all that desperate for a starter either.

 

The Cubs are looking for a top pitcher, and Arrieta is only three years removed from winning the Cy Young, and was still good last year. The Cubs have money, which would be the main reason a team doesn't sign their own good FA pitcher, so what is the problem? The things I can think of are:

 

1) They think Darvish is much better and want to do what they can to get him (except pay the staggering asking price). But if that were the case you'd think there would be more hints that the Cubs were keeping dialogs going for Arrieta, if they don't land Darvish.

 

2) Arrieta's agent is asking way more than the Cubs are willing to pay and won't budge.

 

3) There's some bad blood for some reason (like for not getting a long extension a couple of years ago), but usually those things get leaked out.

 

4) The Cubs expect Arrieta to be a shell of his former self very soon.

[82brewcrew82]

If the Cubs, who desperately need a starting pitcher, don't want him we don't either and that is that.

 

It's literally that simple.

It seems like your saying that every FA pitcher that doesn't sign with their old team is damaged goods? I don't think the Cubs are all that desperate for a starter either.

 

The Cubs are looking for a top pitcher, and Arrieta is only three years removed from winning the Cy Young, and was still good last year. The Cubs have money, which would be the main reason a team doesn't sign their own good FA pitcher, so what is the problem? The things I can think of are:

 

1) They think Darvish is much better and want to do what they can to get him (except pay the staggering asking price). But if that were the case you'd think there would be more hints that the Cubs were keeping dialogs going for Arrieta, if they don't land Darvish.

 

2) Arrieta's agent is asking way more than the Cubs are willing to pay and won't budge.

 

3) There's some bad blood for some reason (like for not getting a long extension a couple of years ago), but usually those things get leaked out.

 

4) The Cubs expect Arrieta to be a shell of his former self very soon.

I'd say there is more evidence to support 1 or 2 than there is for 4.