Chicago Cubs chances of bring back Jake Arrieta dwindling

Chicago Cubs have questions – and Theo will again have answers

The good news? No one really listens to me. At least not in the Cubs front office. And, at this point, I don’t envy the job ahead of Theo and Jed. They have to balance the ever-climbing expectations in and around the organization with fiscal responsibility and putting a quality product on the field.

In my lifetime, I’ve never had as much faith in a front office than I do with this one. If there’s an opportunity to bring Jake Arrieta back – I know this group will do their due diligence. But, more importantly, I trust them to not overextend and push the team into a long-term unsavory position.

The flashy names like Arrieta or Darvish always look enticing. But, as the Cubs saw two years ago, what you expect to get from a big-time free agent, doesn’t always pan out. Chicago brought in Jason Heyward on a record contract. He then essentially quit producing at the plate.

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These risks are present with all players – and with contracts pushing higher and higher in terms of value each year, balancing the now with the future is more important than ever before.