The Cubs swept the Red Sox at Fenway. But the talk of the town was the surge of Jake Arrieta, who nearly threw a no-hitter. This is not the same pitcher the Red Sox saw in a Baltimore uniform.
There’s been some talk the Cubs’ rising star could be on the trade block, along with Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. Arrieta’s contract situation, he is under club control through 2017 -- he hasn’t even hit arbitration
yet -- it would be a surprise if the 28-year-old was dealt. It wasn’t a
surprise, though, that GM Jed Hoyer wouldn’t directly answer if Arrieta would
be with the Cubs after the July 31 trade deadline.
“It’s
been fun to be here and talk to people with the Red Sox, what they
thought of that outing because they did see him so much,” Hoyer said of
Arrieta’s one-hitter on Monday. “They saw a different guy pounding the
strike zone, and the cutter/slider he’s been throwing has been the talk
of those guys.”
When Arrieta was with the Orioles he faced the Red Sox six
times, going 0-3 with a 5.89 ERA. On Monday he gave up one hit and one
walk in 7 2/3 innings pitched. He’s 5-1 with a 1.81 ERA.
“One of the beauties of our situation [is] opportunity,” Hoyer said.
“There will be a day in the future where we won’t have that much
opportunity to play. But right now we do. He knows he’ll be in the
rotation. He can pitch with confidence.”
As for Arrieta being part of any potential trade scenarios, Hoyer had little to offer.
“I’m not going to comment on any other part of it, but I’m glad we have him,” he said.
The internal question is whether the Cubs will be good in 2017. If not, then Arrieta can be traded this year at his "peak" value. So it is possible that the Cubs could put their entire rotation on the market today in order to increase "opportunities" (prospects) for the future (which means 2020). In some respects, Arrieta could bring more in return than Samardzija, who is closer to free agency.
But with Samardzija and Hammel being traded to Oakland, Arrieta falls into the de facto #1 starter role with the Cubs.
