Just yesterday, we checked in on a series of Jake Arrieta bits, after learning that he had won his fourth Player of the Week honors on the strength of his no-hitter in Cincinnati.
Indeed, there was a lot to talk about – bullpen superstition, his former career as a Baltimore Oriole, defensive metrics saving the no-hitter and his ability to induce weak contact – but not a day later, we have much, much more to discuss.
And, hey, it’s Jake Arrieta Day anyway, so why not double down on the content? Round two, let’s go.
At USA Today, Bob Nightengale and Arrieta, himself, discuss the supposed rumors around baseball that Arrieta is and/or has been taking PEDs in order to achieve the level of greatness he has over the past two years. While Nightengale (and even I) can *understand* that seeing someone go from discarded by the Orioles to Cy Young with the Cubs is unusual, making a PED claim on that basis, alone, is so short-sighted and ignorant of most of the facts. Arrieta agrees: “I’ll see on Twitter, ‘My close source revealed to me he’s on steroids.’ Well, the 10 tests I take a year say otherwise. I eat plants. I eat lean meat. I work out. And I do things the right way.” And if you’ve followed Arrieta at all, you’d know that to be the case. [Brett: Arrieta is fitness and nutritional freak, and a famously hard worker. More than that, his breakout with the Cubs was attended by significant changes in his pitch mix and mechanics, extensively documented over the past few years.][adinserter block=”1″]
But it’s not just random boneheads on Twitter, apparently, speculating about PEDs. It’s actual MLB players, too. “I’ve heard players, and I’m talking about some of the best players in the league,’’ Arrieta told USA TODAY Sports, “question whether I’ve taken steroids or not. Some of the things I hear are pretty funny, and some people are idiots, frankly.” But Arrieta is smart and rightly shrugs off the baseless accusations. According to Cubs.com, no one has ever said anything about steroids directly to Arrieta’s face, he adds, “Nobody would be stupid enough to do that.” I certainly would not. I don’t even know how Joe Maddon musters up the courage to go take Arrieta out of a ballgame.
Speaking of the Cubs skipper, Joe Maddon chimed in and challenged anyone in baseball to participate in Arrieta’s workout regimen for just two days, to see how well they perform and how good they look. Steroids have nothing to do with his success. Instead, according to Maddon, Arrieta’s command of his pitches and overwhelming confidence is what spring boarded him into the national spotlight.
At the Athletic, Sahadev Sharma adds more on Arrieta, his diet, his past and why/how illogical it is to suggest that Arrieta has used any performance enhancing drugs of any kind at any point in his career. Arrieta adds that he’s always been in as good of shape and health as he is now, including the velocity on all of his pitches. While that isn’t in and of itself an argument why he hasn’t been using steroids, it certainly does strengthen his case.
Which is to say, there is no case, no trial and no legitimate accusation. I feel a little silly even bringing this to your attention, because I find it to be so unfounded, but the news is the news, and this is the news, because Arrieta actually spoke about it. But it won’t be for long, and soon enough this story will die down and Arrieta will continue dominating his opponents at a historic pace.[adinserter block=”2″]
And eventually, the story will shift back towards whether or not he’ll decide to extend his contract with the Cubs or become a free agent for the first time in his career. Speaking of which: until this season, Arrieta’s big league gross has been under $6 million. Of course, after a Cy Young season in 2015, the Cubs gave him a big raise up to $10.7 million, in order to avoid arbitration. Still, Arrieta is going to finish his career earning far, far more than the $17.5ish million dollars he’s earned thus far – the question is, will that come from someone other than the Cubs?
Back at USA Today, Arrieta indicates that he is looking for something closer to the six or seven-year deals other 30-something Cy Young award winners have been receiving in the past few years. Indeed, over the offseason, the Cubs were willing to entertain a 3-4 year extension, but were not willing to match the 7 years Arrieta and agent Scott Boras were reportedly seeking. [Brett: We’ve dug in at length on what an appropriate extension for Arrieta could look like, and how it’s tough to find a place that makes sense for both the Cubs and for Arrieta. One thing to note: if the Cubs were willing to add 3-4 years on top of the 2 remaining years of team control, and if the 7 years Boras was suggesting was the total length of the extension, then the two sides would actually have been only one or two years apart.]
Working in Arrieta’s favor, Nightengale points out, is the relatively low mileage on Arrieta’s arm (and, of course, the great shape he’s in). By the time Arrieta is a free agent, he will have likely thrown roughly 1,200 Major League innings in his career (due to a slow start in Baltimore). Greinke, by comparison had over 2,000 innings logged on his arm when he signed his $200+ million mega deal this offseason. Although Jake sounds genuinely interested in staying in Chicago, he has already admitted to being perfectly open to other teams and cities if it comes to that (as well he should be). We’ll see where this goes over the next couple years. (For more on an Arrieta extension, check out Nightengale’s piece here.)[adinserter block=”3″]
At FiveThirtyEight, as part of a larger projection project, Jay Boice writes about individual pitcher peaks and, as you can imagine, Arrieta’s peak over the last year has thrust him into the historic spotlight. Indeed, his 68.3 pitcher score obtained at his peak is just ahead of Sandy Koufax (and many, many other historically good pitchers). As far as current pitchers go, Arrieta is only just behind Clayton Kershaw, but is ahead of Zack Greinke, and other great pitchers like David Price and Chris Sale.
Lastly, some great images and notes from Arrieta’s no-hitter (glad to see David Ross got home plate from the Reds):
Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL.
In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy.
You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami
The weather wasn't going to cooperate for Jameson Taillon's season debut, and tonight's Cubs-Marlins tilt has been postponed. The game will instead be part of a split-doubleheader this Saturday, with the first game at 1:20pm CT and the second at...
If you're into tracking young pitchers with star potential like I am—as I watch Jack Leiter's debut while typing this column—then you're probably itching to see Pirates top prospect Paul Skenes make his way to Pittsburgh sooner than later. While...
Cubs vs Marlins — Whew! The Cubs got through their first West Coast road trip of the year, and did so with a winning record (5-4) against the Padres, Mariners, and Diamondbacks. They definitely let a couple games slip out...
As the father of a toddler who was sick for an entire week — the same week Brett was out from his back surgery and the Cubs were playing almost exclusively late-night ballgames on the West Coast — I was...
Kevin Alcántara hit his first home run of the season for the Tennessee Smokies last night, and Owen Caissie hit his first Triple-A home run for the Iowa Cubs as Iowa and Tennessee secured victories. The same can't be said...
Given the way the offseason played out for super agent Scott Boras's top available clients - Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, Blake Snell, and Jordan Montgomery - you wouldn't be shocked to see some unhappiness behind the scenes. Did Boras overplay...
Hayden Wesneski was the hero of yesterday's finale and series-win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, coming in to clean up Jordan Wicks' (little) mess in the 5th ... and then tossing 4 shutout innings to save an over-used bullpen and help...
Hand up, I really wanted the Cubs to sign reliever Robert Stephenson this offseason. I felt like they could use one more impact arm (accurate), and I felt like Stephenson was one of the best available (about that ... )....
Rays closer Pete Fairbanks has been an extremely effective reliever the last four years, posting a 2.66 ERA from 2020 through 2023, with a 34.8% K rate and worth 4.1 WAR. But things have started out much more rough for...
I don't want to overreact to a relatively brief stretch of success, and I certainly don't want to jinx anything. But Christopher Morel has looked pretty darn solid at third base the last couple weeks, hasn't he? Maybe some of...
The weather wasn't going to cooperate for Jameson Taillon's season debut, and tonight's Cubs-Marlins tilt has been postponed. The game will instead be part of a split-doubleheader this Saturday, with the first game at 1:20pm CT and the second at...
Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson was asked before the regular season finale if forward Lukas Reichel would play for Germany at the upcoming IIHF World Championship, or if he was headed to Rockford to join the IceHogs for their playoffs....
The Miami Heat are a better team than the Chicago Bulls. We can all agree on that, right? We're talking about a franchise with three trips to the Eastern Conference Finals in four seasons. This included last year's historic run,...
On Thursday afternoon, the NHL made it official: the Arizona Coyotes are no more. The league's Board of Governors voted to approve the franchise relocating to Salt Lake City, effective immediately. The franchise will be owned and controlled by Smith...
The Chicago Bulls aren't ruling Alex Caruso out just yet. Despite the guard having to exit Wednesday night's Play-In Tournament over the Atlanta Hawks, Caruso is currently listed as "questionable" on the latest official injury report. The Bulls' defensive anchor...
Cubs vs Marlins — Whew! The Cubs got through their first West Coast road trip of the year, and did so with a winning record (5-4) against the Padres, Mariners, and Diamondbacks. They definitely let a couple games slip out...
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter the 2024 NFL Draft in a familiar position – contenders with a need to retool. Baker Mayfield solidified the quarterback position sans Tom Bracy, and while the Bucs boast a talented roster, key departures and...
New England Patriots 3-Round Mock Draft - The curtain has closed on the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era in New England. The Patriots, once a dynasty of consistency, now find themselves at a crossroads. With the number three pick in the 2024 NFL Draft,...
Joc Pederson leads the Arizona Diamondbacks (9-10) into Thursday's matchup with the San Francisco Giants (8-11) on a two-game homer streak. His Diamondbacks are underdogs for the contest, however, with sportsbooks naming the Giants as -159 moneyline favorites. The game...
If you're into tracking young pitchers with star potential like I am—as I watch Jack Leiter's debut while typing this column—then you're probably itching to see Pirates top prospect Paul Skenes make his way to Pittsburgh sooner than later. While...
NEWSLETTER
Just yesterday, we checked in on a series of Jake Arrieta bits, after learning that he had won his fourth Player of the Week honors on the strength of his no-hitter in Cincinnati.
