MESA, Ariz. – It’s rare that an athlete gets to complete a tenure with a team and achieve both individual and team success. In Jake Arrieta’s first run with the in Chicago, he achieved both, winning the National League Cy Young Award in 2015 and helping the Cubs win the World Series in 2016.
For Arrieta, returning to the Cubs wasn’t a matter of having unfinished business or needing to have a sense of completion. The 34-year old right-hander isn’t returning to the rotation he once led to be an ace, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have something left to prove.
“I think everybody at this level, regardless of where they’re at in their careers, are trying to prove something,” Arrieta said. “It might not be to one person, it could be to themselves. It could be people in their past that didn’t think that they were capable of performing at this level or a former organization, fill in the blank.
“There’s always things to prove. Not that that’s in a negative way, it’s really just to prove that I’m still capable of performing at a high level, the level that I expect to perform at.”
Cubs fans’ memories of Arrieta will always be ones of dominance, and it’s hard to blame them. His 21-game run from 2015-16, where he went 19-0 record with a 0.77 ERA and two no-hitters, is one of the most dominant stretches in MLB history.
But those days have passed, and the pitcher Arrieta is now is different from the version people last saw donning the blue pinstripes.
Even as an older version of himself, the Cubs are confident that he can still pitch at a high level in their rotation. Manager David Ross says he expects Arrieta to be near the top of the rotation this season, but doesn’t want to put pressure on his veteran starter.
“I think he is really comfortable here in this Cubs uniform. He’s got a long-standing history,” Ross said. “I’ve watched him perform at best. He’s trying to get back to that version or as close as he can to that in his work. … But I know he’s going to help out our starters and our starting rotation, his presence, who he is, what he’s done in this game, his mentality, his work ethic, you know, is all plus to be around. And he’s gonna pitch big innings for us.”
“I don’t necessarily think I’m going to be 97, 98 [mph] anymore, and that’s completely fine,” Arrieta said. “That’s just kind of the natural progression of your career, and as you get a little bit older, some of those attributes might decline slightly. But I think my ability to perform at a similar level is still there. I’m healthy and I’ve got a good support system around me.”
The starting rotation has several questions to answer this spring and into this season, and Arrieta will be a big part of that. His three years with the Phillies didn’t yield the results many expected, going 22-23 with a 4.36 ERA.
The Cubs don’t need Arrieta to be the Cy Young version of himself to make this tenure with the team a successful one, but they do need him to stay healthy, pitch quality innings and compete with the mentality that made him a household name.
“The last three years weren’t to my expectations,” he said. “I had to deal with several physical setbacks – a meniscus that I pitched through all of 2018, which was tough, but didn’t want to have surgery during the season. Then in ‘19, ultimately had to have bone spurs taken out of my elbow again. So there were some slight physical limitations.
“But having said that, I just didn’t perform the way I was capable of, but I have a lot in the tank. I have a lot to still accomplish in this game and I’m excited that it’s gonna happen in this Cubs uniform again.”
