Cubs' Jake Arrieta: 'Common Misconception' That Scott Boras Will Push Him To Open Market
(CBS) After winning the National League Cy Young award this week, Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta on Friday offered a variation of a line that he's repeated multiple times this season.
He wants to be in Chicago for years to come, and he thinks it's the perfect place for big-name free agents as well.
"How could you not love Chicago?" Arrieta said in an interview on the Spiegel and Goff Show. "It's one of the most beautiful cities in the world in the summer. The fan base is just ridiculous, the support.
"I don't know who wouldn't want to come to Chicago."
Regarding the long term for Arrieta personally, talk of a contract extension is likely on the horizon. Arrieta is under the Cubs' control through 2017, after which he's set to become a free agent. Agent Scott Boras recently stated at the GM meetings that extension discussion is on the winter to-do list.
"We are going to be talking about that as the offseason unfolds for Jake," Boras said.
Cashing in after a season in which he went 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA would make good sense for Arrieta, though the flip side is that he could be the beneficiary of a bidding war in free agency in two years to get more money.
Arrieta called it a "common misconception" that Boras will push him to to the open market, a narrative that has roots in a general sense on the national scale with Boras clients. That narrative certainly has truth and plenty of examples, though it's worth noting that Boras said in an interview on 670 The Score last weekend that he's had 24 clients sign extensions before hitting the open market and having a bidding war ensue.
"He brings me all the information to allow me to decide whatever I want to do," Arrieta said. "He understands that this is a big deal, that this is a time where things could potentially start to get serious. You know, whatever's best for me and my family is what we're going to do. He's always been that way. I know there are stories out there, quote-unquote rumors get spread of how he treats his clients, but I've been more than happy with Scott. I have the utmost respect for him. I think he's the best."
Signing an extension this offseason would provide Arrieta generational wealth without the risk of an injury affecting a payday later, but he insisted that a health fear isn't going to rush his decision or be the deciding factor.
"For me personally, I think I'm conditioned better than everybody in the league," Arrieta said. "So getting injured isn't really something I worry too much about, and that's why I put so much and effort into my training and my mobility routine, making sure that any movement I make on the field, my body's more than prepared to handle that. You know, I put a lot of stress on my joints to expand my range of mobility.
"There's a lot of variable that I go over and I try and understand. I try to make my body able to handle all of them."
Listen to Arrieta's full interview below, as he discusses much more.
