Should the Chicago Cubs regret signing Yu Darvish over Jake Arrieta?
Hindsight is always 20/20 and the season is still young, but should the Chicago Cubs regret signing Yu Darvish over Jake Arrieta?
The Chicago Cubs made a difficult decision in not bringing back Jake Arrieta. Instead, they chose to aggressively pursue free agent Yu Darvish. At the time, the Cubs seemed reluctant to give Arrieta the contract he was looking for. While that logic seemed reasonable at the moment, you have to wonder whether the Cubs have at least a little buyer’s remorse.
Granted, we are only about one-quarter through the season, but the early returns on Darvish have not been good. Let’s face it, they haven’t been good since the 2017 NLCS. Darvish pitched very well in the NLDS against the Arizona Diamondbacks and turned in another good one against the Cubs in the NLCS. However, things seemingly fell apart for him in the World Series. Darvish finished the World Series 0-2 with a 21.60 ERA in just 3.1 innings pitched.
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According to one Houston Astros player, Darvish was tipping his pitches. If true, this could certainly explain the disastrous performance in the World Series. However, an offseason should have been more than enough time to correct the mistake, and yet it hasn’t. This is concerning as it could be an indication that his struggles run deeper than tipping pitches — and a recent series of moves by the Cubs suggests they may have the same concerns.
Darvish was (to put it mildly) awful through his first six starts of the season. Following his May 2nd outing against the Colorado Rockies, the Cubs did something quite interesting. On May 8th, after a Theo Epstein press conference and just prior to the start of their game, the Cubs announced they were placing Darvish on the disabled list for influenza.
The cynic in me says the timing of this announcement was a calculated move to avoid questions on the subject and protect Darvish’s “fragile” state. As it turned out, Darvish missed his next start at Wrigley Field and potentially avoided a smattering of boos in the process. Be that as it may, Cubs fans were left to accept the explanation for the move at face value.
However, in his first start since returning from the disabled list, the Chicago Cubs made another curious move. On Tuesday, Joe Maddon lifted Darvish after only going four innings against the Atlanta Braves. The culprit this time was leg cramps. That is not a typo. Yu Darvish was removed from the game due to leg cramps.
Granted, measuring a player’s toughness against the Curt Schilling “bloody sock” standard would be unfair. However, let’s juxtapose Darvish’s season with Arrieta’s. You remember Jake Arrieta — the workhorse who took the ball every fifth day for the Cubs for five years. The same Arrieta who was a critical piece of the Cubs’ 2016 championship. I’m talking about the guy whose mental toughness on the mound was as impressive as his stuff during his Cy Young year.
https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/995110040137814016
Alright, by now you get the point which is that Jake Arrieta likely would not have missed a start due to influenza, nor would he have left a game due to leg cramps. Detractors will say “but he wasn’t worth the money he was demanding.” The Phillies signed Arrieta to a three-year, $75 million deal, while the Cubs inked Darvish to six years, $126 million. On a per year basis, Arrieta’s contract is slightly higher, but it’s only for three years. Therefore, the total value of Arrieta’s contract and the team’s commitment is significantly less
If Darvish doesn’t turn this ship around, the Cubs will be paying him $21 million per year until 2023. And just to throw some salt on the wound, Arrieta is 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA this year, almost a full run below his career average. The Cubs’ record might look a little different if Darvish was putting up Arrieta’s numbers. If only the Cubs could have found a way to re-sign Arrieta.
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Bottom Line
There is still plenty of time for Darvish to turn things around. The Chicago Cubs certainly hope he returns to pre-World Series form. However, it can’t be easy for fans to watch him struggle while Arrieta lights it up in Philadelphia.