Report: Cubs, Arrieta far apart on contract talks |
Cubs ace pitcher Jake Arrieta is 25-1 with a 1.09 ERA with 52 walks and 222 strikeouts in his last 31 starts since June of last year. It is the greatest 31-game stretch in franchise history and he has been simply dominant.
For the season, Arrieta is 9-0 which is tied for most in the majors with Chris Sale and Stephen Strasburg. He is the first Cubs pitcher to start 9-0 since the 1967 season. The Cubs and Arrieta's super agent Scott Boras are currently trying to work out a long-term contract to keep the star pitcher in Chicago. However, it seems that the two sides have a long way to go according to the following report by writer Jon Heyman. "How far apart are the Cubs and Jake Arrieta? Well, three years apparently, and that’s a lot," Heyman said. "He has sought seven, and they are offering four, at last check. The sides are also far enough apart that “Arrieta will not sign,’’ predicted one person familiar with the talks. Things can change, and it certainly would make sense to see the sides stay together considering he has transformed from a poor starter to one of the best three pitchers in the game (and the best by the numbers since last All-Star break)." "The misconception is that Scott wants everyone to go to free agency," Arrieta said of Boras back in early May. "I made it clear I like Chicago. I think everyone knows that. If I had it my way, I'd stay here. That's just one side of the story. We'll see." Arrieta knows that this is business and he will need to be patient to see how it all shakes out in the future. "If we keep winning, those kinds of things work themselves out in time. If they want to talk, they know where I'm at and we can get something going. In a perfect world, I prefer it be done quickly. Let's get it over with and go play."
