Cubs: Who will be better in 2021 – Jake Arrieta or Yu Darvish?

Since everyone in Chicago knows who Jake Arrieta and Yu Darvish are, let’s get right to the point: what are the chances that a 2016 World Series hero and former Cubs Cy Young winner will have a better year than two-time Cy Young runner-up and 2017 World Series goat?

First things first- 2016 and 2017 were a long time ago. Arrieta is not the same guy he was in his 2015 Cy Young season, or even the World Series year of 2016. Darvish, on the other hand, still might be the same guy he was then as evidenced by his last year and a half on the mound. Oh, and he might not really be so much of a goat since he was pitching against cheaters in that infamous ’17 World Series.

Now that all of that is out of the way, it’s pretty clear that these two guys have shared some kind of bizarre Cubs connection ever since the end of that 2017 World Series. Darvish signed with the Cubs that next offseason right on the heels of Theo Epstein and the Cubs waving goodbye to one of the best pitchers the club had ever seen.