Jake Arrieta is one of the hottest names in baseball so far this offseason due to being one of the top free agents available. He is coming off of a few very good seasons with the Chicago Cubs, and quite a few teams are lining up with interest in signing him in MLB free agency. Among those teams is the Toronto Blue Jays, who are emerging as a serious threat to sign him.
According to a report from Yahoo Sports , Toronto is one of five teams who have already registered interest in signing Arrieta.
Toronto was not one of the top potential suitors just a couple short weeks ago, but they appear to be in the running. They are hoping to get themselves back into contention in the American League and adding a piece like Arrieta certainly would help them achieve those goals.
Last season with the Cubs, Arrieta got off to a rocky start but turned things around late in the season. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury that forced him to miss a good chunk of games late in the season. He was able to return in time for the playoffs and had two solid starts for the Cubs in postseason play.
Arrieta finished the 2017 season with a 14-10 record to go along with a 3.53 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. Back in 2015 with the Cubs, Arrieta put together a historic season. He finished the year with a 22-5 record and a 1.77 ERA while winning the National League Cy Young award.
Cubs and Jake Arrieta reportedly have differing opinions on length of potential deal: https://t.co/IibrU0cl6i pic.twitter.com/ibaS1slBkt
— NBC Sports Chicago (@NBCSChicago) November 30, 2017
If the Blue Jays are able to sign Arrieta, they would add him to an already solid starting rotation. Marcus Stroman and Marco Estrada are currently the top two starters on the roster. Arrieta would immediately give the Jays a deadly “big three” to throw out on the mound.
Needless to say, Arrieta will be an intriguing name to follow this offseason. Chicago would still like to bring him back, while there are a handful of other teams also with a need that could look at signing him. Toronto certainly seems like a good landing spot and might be willing to give him the length of contract that Arrieta is wanting.
Expect to hear plenty of rumors surrounding Arrieta in the coming weeks. Toronto may not end up signing him, but their interest is intriguing, to say the least.
