Chicago Cubs will get their man for the rotation – it’s a matter of time

Chicago got everything from Jake – does he have more?

Right-hander Jake Arrieta was a stud for the Cubs. His second half of 2015 ranks as one of the best stretches any starting pitcher has put together in baseball history. Of course, that ultimately netted him the National League Cy Young Award.

But since then, numbers trended downward.

I broke all this down yesterday in a piece, but there’s one bit I wanted to re-share here:

"Last season, Arrieta put up a 4.16 FIP in 30 starts spanning just 168 1/3 innings. That, by far, is his worst full-season mark in a Cubs uniform. Since 2014, that figure climbed annually from 2.26 to 2.35 to 3.52 before arriving at last year’s 4.16. His WHIP also increased over that same span – from a low of 0.865 in 2015 to a high in 2017 of 1.218."

In short, things aren’t headed in the right direction. At least not when Scott Boras reportedly seeks a six-year deal north of $100 million. Since then, it seems the asking price may have dropped – but it’s still nothing to scoff at.

The nine-figure question is this: do you believe Jake Arrieta can recapture what made him a Cy Young winner. Do you trust him to be that guy on a consistent basis? Because that’s what the Cubs need.