Chicago Cubs rumors: Jake Arrieta open to long-term extension
By Hayden Kane
Having constructed their rebuilding plan around a core of young, talented hitters, the Chicago Cubs are starting to feel like they might be close enough to pursue top-shelf starting pitching and start to see this thing through in the seasons to come.
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That has many people wondering if the Cubs will be especially active in free agency this winter, making runs at ace pitchers like Jon Lester, James Shields, or Max Scherzer. But before they dive in with that route, they might want to tend to one of their own top-end starters in house.
Jake Arrieta has been sensational for the Cubs this season, going 6-4 with a 2.77 ERA in 18 starts this season. The former Baltimore Oriole is not eligible to hit free agency until 2018, though he is arbitration eligible this winter.
The Cubs might be wise to lock him up to a multi-year extension, and according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times, Arrieta would be open to signing such a deal:
"‘‘I don’t think I’m a guy that’s going to ask for an astronomical amount of money,’’ Arrieta said Tuesday. ‘‘But I think if there’s a fair deal to be reached, I’m in 100 percent.‘‘I like pretty much everything about Chicago and the team that’s in place now, with the guys that are coming up. It’s hard not to want to stay here.’’"
As Wittenmyer notes, however, Arrieta employs Scott Boras as his agent. Unlike Arrieta, Boras does typically ask for an astronomical amount of money.
That said, it still remains a distinct possibility that the Cubs would buy out those arbitration years for Arrieta with an extension. If they do so during the same off-season in which they landed another front-line guy in free agency, it could potentially be a quick way to build a solid starting rotation.