Cubs News: Jake Arrieta will throw for interested teams next week

How to sum up the offseason so far…? All we have seen so far is departure after departure of guys we’ve seen make huge impacts over the last few years – including three of the team’s five starting pitchers from last year.

The Chicago Cubs traded Yu Darvish  to the Padres, Tyler Chatwood signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and Jose Quintana reunited with Joe Maddon as a member of the Los Angeles Angels. Will dire necessity bring about a reunion between the Cubs and former Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta?

Jake Arrieta makes sense for the Cubs for a ton of reasons

Our old friend Arrieta is going to throw for interested teams next week. We don’t yet know if the Cubs will be in attendance, but they better be. I mean, with the team’s need for arms, there’s no way they won’t be there. At this point, it’s a must to at least check in on every budget-friendly arm out there. It’s been painfully obvious the Cubs are looking to save money and Arrieta wouldn’t break the bank given his recent performance.

Arrieta is a different guy since we last saw him on the Cubs. Back then, he was still largely at the top of his game. In 2015 he was one of the most dominant pitchers baseball has ever seen, becoming the first Cubs Cy Young winner since Greg Maddux in 1992. Although not quite as lights-out in 2016, he still played a major role in the Cubs ending a century-plus championship drought.

After the 2017 season, Arrieta became a free agent and the Cubs had to decide between him and Darvish. The Cubs went with Darvish and at the time people didn’t think that it was the right decision. Three years removed from the decision it was clear that Darvish was irrefutably the right move.

The biggest question behind Arrieta heading in 2021 is his health as his 2020 season was cut short due to a hamstring injury – the second time in as many years he’s battled the injury.

It makes sense for Jed Hoyer to go out and get Arrieta for the starting rotation. I don’t think he is going to come out and be 2015 Arrieta or anything but as of now the club just needs guys to eat innings. If he can stay healthy he will be able to do that – and given the risks, he’s not going to cost a whole lot.

And I am very much here for him coming home to finish his big league career.