Cubs, Jake Arrieta avoid arbitration with $15.6 million deal
CHICAGO (AP) — Jake Arrieta is one year away from free agency, and the clock is ticking a little louder on the possibility of an extension with the Chicago Cubs.
The ace right-hander and the World Serieschampion Cubs agreed to a $15,637,500, one-year contract on Friday, avoiding arbitration. But there were no signs that the sides were any closer on a multiyear deal that would keep Arrieta in Chicago beyond this season.
"There's certainly a chance that he could be here beyond next year, but we don't have any ongoing talks or anything specific scheduled," president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said before the start of the team's annual fan convention. "But I'm sure it will come up at some point."
MLB players avoiding salary arbitration
Arrieta blossomed after he was acquired in a 2013 trade with Baltimore, a lopsided deal that turned into a key moment in Chicago's turnaround from the bottom of the standings to its first championship since 1908. He won the NL Cy Young Award in 2015 and is 54-21 with a 2.52 ERA in three-plus seasons with the Cubs.
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Arrieta, who is represented by Scott Boras, could be one of the top free agents next winter. But he also turns 31 in March, possibly giving the Cubs pause when it comes to making the type of financial commitment it would take to prevent him from testing the market. Chicago also is looking at potentially costly deals for some of its top young position players in the coming years.
"The timeline is kind of coming to an end, as far as, you know, leading up to free agency," Arrieta said, "so I don't know. I'm here for one more year and I said it a couple years ago that I'm going to be a Cub for at least two more years and I'm going to enjoy every moment of it.
"If something happens where an extension is possible, then we'll address that when it happens. But as of now, we got one more season as a Cub and I'm really happy about that."
The Cubs also announced one-year deals for right-handed relievers Hector Rondon($5.8 million) and Justin Grimm ($1,825,000), and former catcher David Ross is joining the front office as a special assistant. Ross retired after playing a key role in last year's championship.
The club exchanged arbitration numbers with Pedro Strop, with the team offering $4.6 million and the reliever countering at $6 million. But there is optimism about a deal being reached soon.
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