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Chicago Cubs: What lies ahead for right-hander Jake Arrieta?

By Justin Curran

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: Jake Arrieta #49 of the Chicago Cubs pitches in the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on June 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: Jake Arrieta #49 of the Chicago Cubs pitches in the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on June 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – JUNE 17: Jake Arrieta #49 of the Chicago Cubs walks towards the dugout after being removed from the game in the fifth inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on June 17, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – JUNE 17: Jake Arrieta #49 of the Chicago Cubs walks towards the dugout after being removed from the game in the fifth inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on June 17, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

If I had to some up Jake Arrieta’s 2017 season with the Chicago Cubs in one word I would say it has been ‘costly.’

$200 million seemed like a lofty number six months ago. Now, it’s looking like the Chicago Cubs’ right-hander will be capped at around $100 million in free agency. That is, unless he turns in another historic second-half, as he did in 2015.

The 31-year-old bearded right-hander currently has a 4.17 ERA, a WHIP of 1.287, and has a FIP of 4.25.  Those numbers aren’t as bad as they were when he was with the Baltimore Orioles, but they’re close.

Just stop and think for a second, over the course of a year (second-half 2015 and first-half 2016) Arrieta was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball history.

After the Midsummer Classic two years ago, Arrieta had a 0.75 ERA, 0.727 WHIP and struck out 9.5 batters per nine innings pitched.  Those numbers are Gibson-esque.

While the numbers from first half of 2016 are not quite as superb, they still are very good.  Let’s use the same numbers, he had a 2.68 ERA, a 1.093 WHIP and, keeping it consistent, he was striking out 9.5 batters per nine.

I’ll go out on a limb and say that if he signed a contract extension around the All-Star Break last season, it would’ve been for a pretty penny.

Now, as Arrieta stares free-agency in the face, he is looking at an uglier penny.  Wait, can pennies be ugly, or even pretty for that matter?

Never mind that nonsense, the question is: what’s next for Jake Arrieta?

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