Jake Arrieta or Yu Darvish: Who could be with the Dodgers on Opening Day?
Darvish could decide to stay in LA, but there is another factor to think about
Jake Arrieta. In 2017, Arrieta went 14-10 with a 3.53 ERA, helping the 2016 world champion Chicago Cubs to their third straight NL championship series.
Arrieta, who once tossed a no-hitter against the Dodgers in August of 2015, could be just what Los Angeles needs in order to win the World Series in 2018.
Though Arrieta has been pitching in the major leagues two years longer than Darvish, their career statistics are about the same. Arrieta’s career ERA (3.57) is just a tick higher than Darvish (3.42) and his WHIP is slightly lower.
Though Arrieta could easily sign with the team in which he won a World Championship with, the price might be too high for Chicago.
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The Cubs also have another name to consider signing, a player who will undoubtedly get one of the biggest contracts in history; Bryce Harper. Harper will be a free agent after the 2018 season and could be a perfect fit for the Cubs in right field. That in mind, the Cubs could be hesitant to sign Arrieta now.
In my opinion, I don’t think the Cubs will re-sign Arrieta, and I don’t think the Dodgers will re-sign Darvish. The price for Arrieta will be a high one, but if any team can afford it, it’s the Dodgers.
I’m just going to come right out and say it — the Dodgers should sign Jake Arrieta.
The Dodgers have the largest payroll in baseball, exceeding 225 million in 2017. They already re-signed three big-name free agents, Rich Hill, Justin Turner, and Kenley Jansen, to multi-year contracts in 2016.
As of now, the only big contract that could alter the Dodgers completely is Clayton Kershaw. He can opt-out after 2018, but there hasn’t been any indication that the Dodgers’ ace plans to leave LA anytime soon.