It’s sad that Jake Arrieta’s tenure with the Cubs had to end the way it did, with an unconditional release following one of the worst starts of his career.
You know, there was a time even earlier this year when it looked like the return of Jake to the Cubs looked like a really good thing. Over his first five starts he posted a 2.57 ERA, 1.179 WHIP and had 26 strikeouts in 28 innings. Maybe he wasn’t going to be the invincible Arrieta of 2015 and early 2016, but those numbers would have played among the better pitchers in the National League this year if he had been able to sustain them.