Report: Arrieta's agent wants $200 million |
The Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta avoided arbitration back in January by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $15.6375 million. However, Arrieta will be a free agent at the age of 32 after the 2017 season as he will no longer be with the Cubs unless the team and super agent Scott Boras come to some type of agreement on a long-term contract.
Major league insider Jon Heyman is reporting that Boras wants in the range of a seven-year, $210 million contract that he got for ace pitcher Max Scherzer. "The Cubs and Jake Arrieta’s agent Scott Boras spoke within the past few weeks, and there was said to be “no traction.” The expectation is that Arrieta will be a free agent at year’s end," Heyman said. "Cubs people love Arrieta and helped turn him into a big star. However, the belief is that they wouldn’t go more than four years if that. Arrieta is looking for a mega deal along the lines of the Max Scherzer contract with the Nats … The Cubs looked closely at Brad Ziegler this winter, making a play for him at one point … There are rumblings that the Cubs, as profitable as they are, are concerned about staying below the luxury tax threshold." In 2016, Arrieta was 18-8 with a 3.10 ERA with 190 strikeouts and 1.08 WHIP. For his career, he is 74-46 with a 3.58 ERA with 907 strikeouts and 1.16 WHIP.
