Jake Arrieta Turned Down A LOT MORE Guaranteed Money From The Cubs Before Signing With Phillies

I always loved Jake Arrieta's attitude when he was with the Chicago Cubs. He may not have had the best stuff, but he was definitely the most confident pitcher on the mound. He was a beast and now Arrieta's saying why he didn't come back to Chicago. When it came to giving a new contract to a starting pitcher this offseason, the Cubs chose Yu Darvish. However, Arrieta confirms that Theo Epstein did call him and offered a deal, but it wasn't good enough and the conditions weren't acceptable, Arrieta said. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times had the exclusive on Tuesday and in his story he got Arrieta to shed more light on what happened this past offseason between him and the Cubs front office. At the end, Arrieta turned down a six-year contract worth $120 million from the Cubs and he signed a three-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies that will pay him a guaranteed $75 million. Here's Arrieta on why he said no to the Cubs. Via the Chicago Sun-Times.

“He called literally the night before Darvish signed and said, ‘Here’s the offer, take it or leave it. If you don’t want it, we’re going to try to sign Darvish as soon as possible.’ ”

Six years, $120 million. Take it or leave it.

The next day, the Cubs and Darvish closed on a six-year, $126 million contract. 

It was the defining moment of the Cubs’ offseason and the final word in the defining chapter of Arrieta’s baseball life.

“Theo’s great at what he does, he really is,” Arrieta said recently from his corner spot in a quiet Phillies clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park.

“But they weren’t willing to negotiate at all, and that wasn’t acceptable for me. I bet on myself just like I have my entire career and ended up getting a good deal.”

The Cubs offer would have given Arrieta an average annual salary of $20 million, while the deal he signed with the Phillies could end up being worth $135 million over five years. If Arrieta gets all his incentives, he'll get an average of $27 million per season on average. Philadelphia has team options for 2021 and 2022 worth $20 million guaranteed per year.

Arrieta gets $30 million this year, $25 million in 2019 and $20 million in 2020. Arrieta has the right to terminate the deal after the 2019 season and become a free agent again, but the Phillies can void that right if they exercise club options for 2021 and 2022 at $20 million annually. The price of both options can increase by up to $5 million based on starts in both 2018 and 2019: $1 million for 25 each year, and $500,000 each for 27, 29 and 31. The option prices would increase to $28 million if he is among the top five in Cy Young Award voting in 2018 or 2019, and to $30 million if he is among the top three in either year.

So yes, Arrieta bet on himself and so far he's looked great, posting a 3.49 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in his first five starts with the Phillies. At the end of the day, though, sure the Cubs offered him less than what he was looking for, but Arrieta literally had no offers from any other team and Epstein called with $120 million guaranteed. I do get where Arrieta feels maybe undervalued, especially after his incredible 4.5 years with the Cubs, but is $120 million over six years that insulting? Anyway, Arrieta said he doesn't have any hard feelings and he still has the same confidence that made so many Cubs fans fall in love with his allure.

“There’s not many like me. That’s just how it is, man,” said Arrieta, whose 2015 Cy Young season ranks among the best for any pitcher in history. “I view myself as very different than most. I’m not saying I have the best stuff or I’m the best pitcher or I have the best command. But just what I do is pretty unique to me. The whole thing.

“I don’t care what the situation is, I bet on myself to get the job done.”

The Cubs could face Arrieta, as they play against the Phillies for the first time in 2018 at Wrigley Field in early June. Arrieta goes into more detail about his offseason and the lack of contact with the Cubs as well. Read that here.