This is one of those things that you have to pass on, because it’s a legitimate update involving an important player, and the issue should be discussed.
But it’s also kind of not really much of anything, because the appropriate reaction to that headline should be, “Well, I mean, yeah. Obviously. I already knew that. I’m smart and hygienic and have a dozen or more friends.”
Take it easy.
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This was a worthwhile ask by Jesse Rogers, and I wanted to at least confirm it for you:
I asked Scott Boras about talking long term deal for Arrieta. The window is now. Said when they discuss arb in Jan. it will come up
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) December 8, 2016
As Rogers notes, discussion of an extension for Arrieta, who is a free agent after 2017, was always going to happen in January, because that’s when arbitration discussions were going to happen anyway.
Will those talks actually go anywhere? That’s the real question.
We can’t say for sure as we sit here today whether they will or they won’t, but I don’t think anyone on the outside expects the talks to lead to a deal. With Arrieta just a year away from free agency, and now coming off a more mixed season than his Cy Young campaign in 2015, my guess is the two sides might be even further apart in valuing the next contract for Arrieta. Moreover, Arrieta is going to be paid handsomely in this final arbitration go-around (projections have him at $16.8 million), which will give him the kind of seriously life-changing buffer that it’s probably even more comfortable for him to bet on himself.
As of last year at this time, Arrieta – again, fresh off one of the most dominating stretches of pitching in baseball history – was looking for a six or seven-year extension.
Still, we’ll see what happens when January rolls around. The Cubs obviously have a significant need for pitching after 2017, and Arrieta will be only 31 after the season.
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