Phillies

Report: The Phillies Are Having Discussions With Jake Arrieta

By Bob Wankel

Published: Feb 20th, 2018 · 11:21 AM EST

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The Phillies’ starting rotation is littered with several question marks, but they’re reportedly having discussions that could lead to one emphatic answer:

Phillies and Jake Arrieta are having dialogue. Phils people (MacPhail, Klentak, Jordan, etc.) love him from their days in Baltimore together. Phils would prefer shorter term tho, so there’s a gap.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 20, 2018

Do. The. Deal.

This isn’t a signing that should be made at all costs, but if the market comes back to the Phillies and presents a pitching-needy team with an opportunity to snag Arrieta, who will turn 32 in early March, then they HAVE to do it. A deal valued at $28-32 million per year over three years seems fair. Arrieta would become one of the highest-paid starting pitchers in terms of annual value, and the Phillies get markedly better in the short-term without having to worry about the dead weight of a mega-deal hampering their financial flexibility five years down the road. Such a deal would not compromise the team’s financial flexibility to jump into a loaded free agent market ahead of the 2019 season.

Arrieta’s performance has declined over the past two years, but he was still productive in 2017, posting a 14-10 record with a 3.53 ERA and 163 strikeouts over 168.1 innings.

The immediate impact of adding Arrieta would be substantial. His presence would give the Phillies a legitimate arm to pair with Aaron Nola and would help bring stability to a rotation in desperate need of it. If the Phillies had firm answers in the middle of their rotation, the need here wouldn’t be as great, but they don’t. After Nola, the rotation consists of regular-sized question marks (Jerad Eickhoff and Vince Velasquez) followed by even larger ones (Nick Pivetta, Ben Lively, Thomas Eshelman, Mark Leiter). Arrieta’s addition would push the Phillies to the fringe of contention if their lineup makes reasonable strides. This deal not only improves the roster, but it sends a strong show of support from the front office to a young team and most certainly sets the tone for what could be an exciting season. The Phillies have an opportunity to generate legitimate optimism for the first time in more than five seasons, so let’s see if they can get it done.