Chicago Cubs: What Jake Arrieta might have meant to the 2018 team

Instead of bringing back 2015 National League Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta, the Chicago Cubs made a mistake and looked for other avenues this offseason.

When the 2017 offseason began, the big question for Chicago Cubs fans surrounded the future of right-hander Jake Arrieta in Cubbie Blue. Arrieta gave the Cubs five remarkable seasons, going 68-31 with a 2.73 ERA.

However, there was an odd sense that his time in Chicago had run its course. In his final campaign, his earned run average rose to its highest point since 2013 and fans felt like it was time to move on and make way to add another elite pitcher to the rotation.

As we all know, the Cubs let Arrieta walk and signed Yu Darvish to a six-year, $126 million deal. It seemed like the sexy move to make at the time, and to pair with another intriguing addition of Tyler Chatwood, the Cubs rotation looked to be the best the team has had in the Joe Maddon era.

However, these moves have completely fallen flat for the Cubs and I want to show what Jake Arrieta in the rotation would have meant for this team.