Arrieta Wants To Be Part Of Cubs' Future
(CBS) Of everyone on the Cubs this season, no one has been as big of a revelation as right-handed starter Jake Arrieta.
Acquired from the Orioles in July 2013 in a deal that sent Scott Feldman to Baltimore, Arrieta has been Chicago's most consistent starter this season, going 6-4 with a 2.77 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. The strong showing has had some wondering about Arrieta's future with the Cubs, a topic he addressed with the Chicago Sun-Times in an article that was posted late Tuesday.
To put it simply, Arrieta would like to be part of the Cubs' future.
''I don't think I'm a guy that's going to ask for an astronomical amount of money,'' Arrieta told the Sun-Times. ''But I think if there's a fair deal to be reached, I'm in 100 percent.
''I like pretty much everything about Chicago and the team that's in place now, with the guys that are coming up. It's hard not to want to stay here.''
Arrieta is under team control through 2018, according to baseball-reference.com, and he's arbitration eligible for the first time this winter. That said, he's all ears if the Cubs want to talk about a long-term contract sooner rather than later.
''I don't think it's out of the question,'' said Arrieta, who's allowed more than three earned runs in just two of his 18 starts this year.. ''I don't think there's been anything formal in the works, but this is an organization that I've really seen a transformation take place — from a team that was scuffling for a number of years to one now that's really trying to compete for a world championship. And I want to be a part of that for years to come."