CHICAGO – Former Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta is happy to be back in the city where he had his biggest hit, saying Saturday he is with the Chicago Cubs “where he wanted to be.”
Arrieta, 34, signed a one-year, $ 6 million contract with the team he helped win the World Series title and will now be managed by his former receiver, David Ross.
“Playing for a manager who caught one of my games without hits is great,” Arrieta said in a video call Saturday with reporters. “This is where I wanted to be. The last few days here, it feels good.”
Arrieta previously pitched for the Cubs from 2013 to 2017, winning the Cy Young Award in 2015, the wildcard game this same season and a World Series ring next year. Along the way, he threw two hit-free games, elevating his game to being among the best in baseball.
But after signing a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018, their production, and their health, went downhill. Its effectiveness rose from 3.96 in 2018 to 4.64 in 2019 and then to 5.08 in 2020. It dealt with a meniscus problem and bony spurs in Philadelphia, but said it is now healthy.
“There are always things to prove,” Arrieta said. “It’s not that it’s in a negative way. It’s really just to show that I’m capable of performing at a high level. The level I’m hoping to perform at. The last three years didn’t live up to my expectations.”
The Puppies were hoping to unlock the same things they did when Arrieta arrived from Baltimore as an ordinary pitcher in a mid-season exchange in 2013. Some faces in the organization have changed, but many remain, which gives Arrieta a comfort level on your return.
“I’d never want it to look like I’m not able to perform well in (complete the city’s white space), but is it a little different here in Chicago?” Arrieta said. “Of course. The mere fact of being able to wear this uniform, wearing the 49 again at Wrigley Field, will be very special.”
Ross added: “Jake is still a first-class pitcher in the rotation. Sometimes, going back to family coaches, family places can really take off the game.”
Arrieta teamed up in his hometown of Austin, Texas, during the winter, but remained in close contact with the Cubs throughout the free agent process. After the team began cutting wages, including the exchange of opener Yu Darvish, Arrieta wasn’t sure if there would be room for him.
“At first I thought it was less likely when these things started to happen,” Arrieta explained. “[Pero] his need to throw is there.
“It’s an unusual free agent market. Unlike any other we’ve seen in the past. Baseball is in a weird place. Teams have had to change the way they approach certain aspects of the game and rightly so. [debido a preocupaciones financieras]”.
Arrieta returns to Chicago as a more experienced leader. He is already trying to impart his wisdom to younger pitchers, indicating that he has already spent a lot of time with 25-year-old Adbert Alzolay.
“It comes with the territory,” Arrieta said. “You get to a point in your career where you’re expected to perform not only on the field but also off the field. I’m proud of that.”
“He understands the presence he has,” Ross said.
Arrieta will surely receive a warm welcome from Cubs fans, as it is a reminder of his glory years, although the team could be in a transition at the moment. Arrieta wants to show them that he’s the guy they remember dominating the competition on the road to a Cy Young and a championship.
“I have a lot in the tank,” Arrieta said. “I still have a lot to achieve in this game. I’m excited for it to happen again with this Puppies uniform.”