Cubs, Jake Arrieta to discuss extension in January

The Cubs and ace starter Jake Arrieta plan to discuss a contract extension in January, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago. Next month the Cubs and Arrieta will be entering into arbitration talks.

Earlier this year, Arrieta was looking to squeeze a seven-year deal out of Chicago. The Cubs weren’t going over five, reported Bob Nightengale, thus resulting in a standoff. Arrieta will be eligible for free agency at the end of next season. The most recent arbitration projections have him set to make $16.8 million.

Arrieta had a 2016 season that would be seen as solid for almost any major-league pitcher, but disappointed a bit in comparison to his insane 2015 Cy Young run. The 30-year old went 3.10 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 over 197 1/3 innings. He’s also apart of the emergence of #PitchersWhoRake club, driving in seven runs, with two homers.

2017 will be the year of the pitcher. With the Chris Sale trade for Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Alexander Basabe and Victor Diaz, potentially the biggest deal made at the Winter Meetings, if you can throw a mean fastball, you’re made. Plus we can’t forget the Nationals dealing all of their pitching prospects to the White Sox, a strong arm is looking to be the most coveted team asset.