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After the Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World Series, a few players departed. The biggest and most important one was center fielder Dexter Fowler, who signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. Now, the Cubs could be on the verge of losing yet another key player within the NL Central division.
Free agent pitcher Jake Arrieta is going to cash in this offseason and one of his main suitors has been confirmed to be none other than the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs were able to escape the 2017 season with the division title, but the Brewers surprised everyone in baseball, spending much of the year in first place. Their rise came a little early, but that may now put them in a position to go out and make a big free agent splash.
That move could be signing the 2015 NL Cy Young Award winner.
Source: #Brewers showing interest in free agent Jake Arrieta. With Jimmy Nelson expected to miss portion of 2018 after shoulder surgery, team is looking for top-of-the-rotation upgrades. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 20, 2017
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Arrieta is expected to get a $100 million contract and the Brewers have more than enough money to land him.
#Brewers had payrolls in excess of $100 million earlier this decade; at present, commitments are ~ $32 million before arbitration raises, per Spotrac. They drew 2.6 million fans in 2017 and have the capacity to make a major addition. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 20, 2017
The Cardinals could potentially be in the mix for Arrieta too, so Cubs fans might still see a lot of him.
Arrieta’s agent Scott Boras has been hard at work, trying to build up his client in free agency, so you know he’ll try to get a bidding war started soon. As far as the Cubs go, they appear to be more focused on Alex Cobb, who is a few years younger than Arrieta and will cost a lot less.
I will say, before 2016 if the Cubs had players signing with division rivals it would suck, but finally seeing them win the World Series, now I don’t care that much anymore. Obviously that’s not the same feeling among all Cubs fans, as some were mad when Fowler signed with the Cardinals and those same fans could very well be fired up again if Arrieta signs with Milwaukee.
It would add a new wrinkle to the Cubs-Brewers rivalry, so that part would certainly be entertaining. We’ll see, as Arrieta will surely have several offers this offseason.
