Cubs Reunite with Jake Arrieta on One-Year Deal
When Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney told 670 The Score there was room in the budget to add pitching, he may not have been speaking in generalities. After hearing last week that a reunion with Jake Arrieta was unlikely due to the righty’s asking price, the tables turned Friday evening.
Breaking: Jake Arrieta and the Cubs are getting close to a reunion
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 12, 2021
Jake Arrieta close to signing with the #Cubs, source confirms @JonHeyman report. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) February 12, 2021
Arrieta’s performance has fallen of considerably since his 2015 Cy Young campaign and the Cubs eventually opted to hand a big contract to Yu Darvish rather than matching the Phillies’ offer for their incumbent ace. More accurately, they did go to Arrieta with that offer very late in the game and he opted to leave. How ironic then that a diminished Arrieta could return to fill out a rotation that was seriously depleted when Darvish was traded away.
Arrieta one-year deal in the 6.5m-7m range.
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubMLB) February 13, 2021
It’s a one-year deal expected to be around $7 million, which is a little more than the Cubs were thought to have and a little less than Arrieta was rumored to be seeking. He reportedly did have bigger offers on the table, but liked the idea of coming back to Chicago. And hey, maybe there’s a little something to that budget increase after all.
Also of note: Arrieta is a Scott Boras client, so the notion that the super-agent only seeks the highest deals and doesn’t listen to his clients’ wishes is silly.
Update: The deal is for $6 million guaranteed, but the initial reports of the total value may indicate some additional incentives. It’s also entirely possible some of the money will be deferred as part of a buyout or signing bonus.
Arrieta gets $6 million guaranteed in one-year deal with #Cubsl.
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubMLB) February 13, 2021
Update #2: Here are the official details of Arrieta’s deal:
Jake Arrieta passes his physical and his one-year, $6 million contract with the #Cubs is now official:
He will earn $4 million this year with a $10 million mutual option or $2 million buyout in 2022.
He also can earn $250,000 apiece for 150, 160, 170 and 180 innings.— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 17, 2021
