Can the White Sox convince Jake Arrieta to sign?

After 4 full seasons with the Cubs, Jake Arrieta will be a free agent this off season. Can the White Sox convince him to come to the south side?

In this winters MLB free agent choices, Jake Arrieta may very well be the best free agent pitcher there is on the market. Depending on whether or not you take Yu Darvish‘s postseason struggles into account of course. Arrieta will likely have plenty of suitors during the cold period, however Arreita is used to the cold after pitching for Baltimore and in Chicago during his career.

Jake Arrieta was the key component for the Cubs recent postseason success. In 2015, he finished the year with one of the best ERA’s in the history of baseball. Finishing 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA, he dominated every batter he faced, striking out 263 of them. That year, he ate a lot of innings as he pitched over 220 innings for the north siders. The following year in 2016, Arrieta had a down year compared to his previous standards.

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His ERA in 2016 was down almost a whole point and a half from the previous year. Despite the “down” year, Arrieta made his first and only career all star appearance. That postseason, he led the Chicago Cubs to a World Series title, the teams first in 108 years.

What can Arrieta bring to the White Sox?

There are a multitude of things that Jake Arrieta can bring to the Chicago White Sox. One of the biggest gets for the White Sox would be his ability to pitch in the big game. The team may be a few years away from postseason success, but if Arrieta is willing to wait 2 or 3 years into a 7 year contract, there could be a great chance he signs.

In 9 career postseason starts, Jake has compiled a record of 5-3, with a 3.08 ERA. Including 2 of the biggest wins in the Cubs franchise history, against the Cleveland Indians in 2016. In those 2 games, he pitched 11.1 winnings only giving up 3 runs.

The south side Chicago team needs an ace, and with the team likely going extremely young in the 2018 rotation, Arrieta can step right in to be the opening day starter the team desperately needs. Since the days of Mark Buehrle, the White Sox have not had a true go to ace. Chris Sale was a true ace, but he was traded in a deal for Yoan Moncada. Jose Quintana could have potentially been that, but the team decided to trade him away in a deal to the Cubs for another prized prospect in Eloy Jimenez.

With Jake Arrieta likely looking for a contract in the 5-7 year range with an annual average close to $30 million per year, the White Sox have a great chance at giving him the money he wants.

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