Chicago Cubs: Will Jake Arrieta pitch for them again?
Jake Arrieta took the mound for the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night in Game Four of the National League Division Series. In what might be his last start for the Cubs, the 2015 Cy Young winner came up very short and left with the loss. Will we see him pitch for the Cubs again?
The Chicago Cubs called upon Jake Arrieta to win Wednesday’s Game Four against the Washington Nationals. With the Cubs needing one win to advance to the NLCS, Arrieta came up very small in this big start. If the Cubs are unable to salvage Thursday’s Game Five, the end of the Arrieta Era in Chicago could be here.
Game Four Recap
It took Arrieta 90 pitches to get through the first four innings. The five walks he issued certainly didn’t do his pitch count any favors. Arrieta was wildly ineffective in this outing. Only because the Nationals offense seems to have gone on hiatus this postseason was he able to last the four full frames before Jon Lester came out of the bullpen in relief.
Arrieta should consider himself lucky. Rarely can a pitcher allow five walks in such a short period of time and get away without allowing an earned run. In the third inning, Arrieta did allow one run to score on a costly error by shortstop Addison Russell.
However, this blame doesn’t just go to Russell. Arrieta allowed Trea Turner to reach second base with a one out double. Then, Arrieta threw a wild pitch with Jayson Werth at the plate, which allowed Turner to move up to third base. This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Arrieta has led the league in wild pitches for two straight seasons with 14 this past season and 16 in the one prior.
Werth did strike out, but Arrieta would then walk Bryce Harper before Ryan Zimmerman was able to reach on the error. When Turner crossed the plate, the Nationals took a 1-0 lead thus putting Arrieta in a position to lose the game.
As it turns out, this one run was all the Nationals needed. The Cubs failed to score against Stephen Strasburg, Ryan Madson, and Sean Doolittle. Thanks to a late Michael Taylor grand slam, a nail was hammered into the Cubs’ coffin.
What does the future look like for Arrieta?
If the Cubs lose on Thursday, Arrieta will not have a chance to rebound in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. This forgettable four-inning start will be it for his time with the Cubs. Unless they go against my logic, he’s not returning in 2018.
Arrieta had a down year in 2017. His 3.53 ERA is good for an American League pitcher who can do a lot of other great things. For a guy who two seasons ago dominated for two months and was virtually unhittable, this is not good at all.
Arrieta is by no means cooked. However, with next season being his age 32 campaign, it’s hard to imagine the Cubs ask him to return. He’s going to earn a lot of money and the Cubs have other needs to address. More importantly for this franchise, they need to begin preparing for the days when Kris Bryant receives his massive raise. They will have a tougher time doing this with Arrieta hanging around in the final years of his career.
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Arrieta’s time in a Cubs’ uniform is fully dependent on whether they can finish off the Nationals. If they can avoid the choke job then we should see Arrieta take the mound at least one more time for Chicago. If not, this short outing was a disappointing finish to an otherwise phenomenal run with the Cubs.