CHICAGO — The end of the road for Jake Arrieta came quickly after the Chicago Cubs starter gave up seven first-inning runs Wednesday in a 10-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
President Jed Hoyer and manager David Ross sat down with Arrieta after the game and told him he was being released.
Ross wouldn’t say whether Arrieta wants to continue pitching or how he reacted.
“It was a simple conversation,” he said.
Hoyer said he would keep the conversation between them private.
Arrieta started out well in his return to the team that he helped win a World Series with, but things went downhill in May and never recovered.
“Obviously he was struggling, obviously not getting deep in starts,” Hoyer said. “We’ve sort of been patient and tried to get through it and hopefully he’d come out the other side and pitch better. But we weren’t there and thought it was the right thing to do for him.
“If he can catch on somewhere, maybe a change of scenery would help him. And for us it just seemed like the right time.”
Ross said it “stinks” to have to say goodbye to a good friend and someone who has given a lot to the organization.
“I try to forget stuff like (Wednesday’s outing), and looking up at his numbers on the board, what he’s done for this organization, how consistent he has been with the time i was on his team in ‘15 and ‘16,” Ross said. “Those are the things I’m holding on to.”
Hoyer said he had no regrets about re-signing the former star, and said he doesn’t believe the bad ending tarnishes Arrieta’s legacy.
“Nothing that happened on the mound last night or the other (starts) diminishes his role in club history,” he said. “If you look back, I think there is a really good argument to say he was one of the more influential people in the history of this franchise.
“Other guys probably had longer careers, put up some more numbers, but when you look at what the apex of his career was, you could argue it had as much an impact on three really good seasons in 2015, ‘16 and ‘17 and a world championship.
“You can argue he had as much an influence in that, or as much to do with that as any single player. Nothing at all this year diminishes what he’s done. This guy is a legend here.”
Hoyer said he didn’t see Arrieta’s Zoom session with reporters Wednesday night in which Arrieta told Marquee Sports Network reporter Bruce Levine “I’d love you to take your mask off.” Levine, who was wearing a mask in the press box, said Thursday he was not bothered by Arrieta’s comment, which some took as a shot at those who believe in the COVID-19 vaccine.
Hoyer declined to address Arrieta’s postgame comment.
The Cubs have said goodbye to several players who were not willing to be vaccinated over the last month, but are still under the 85% threshold of Tier One employees to relax COVID-19 protocols and are unlikely to get there before the end of the season.
As for the rotation, the Cubs eventually will bring rookie Keegan Thompson up from Triple-A Iowa to start, Hoyer said.
While Hoyer wouldn’t talk in specifics about future plans, he said “I don’t think you can connect what happens here over the next two months with going forward.”
In other words, the team on the field the final two months of the 2021 season will not be the one that’s there at the start of 2022.
“Right now, we’re obviously playing shorthanded, that’s clear,” Hoyer said, pointing to injuries and call-ups who are here because of the sell-off.
Catcher Willson Contreras, who was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right knee sprain that Hoyer said was a “tweak,” has said he hopes to be a part of the team’s future. Contreras is arbitration-eligible next year and will be a free agent after the 2022 season.
“I love the way he plays,” Hoyer said. “He plays a premium position and he plays hard every night. I’ve seen a lot of articles talking about ... we need to make a move on that. We’ve had conversations in the past with (extending) Willson.”
Hoyer said he would keep any future conversations private.
“Talking about thee things in public, as we know, is dangerous,” he said.
