New York Mets should be wary of the post-prime Jake Arrieta

For better or worse, Trevor Bauer will not be the final piece to the New York Mets starting rotation. The 2020 NL Cy Young winner spurned the Mets to head out west to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a historic deal.

Thus, leaving the Mets heading back to the whiteboard.

The team already has Jacob deGrom as their ace, joined by Marcus Stroman and Carlos Carrasco. The Mets also have a plethora of options to start in David Peterson, Joey Lucchesi, and Jordan Yamamoto who can hold down Noah Syndergaard’s rotation spot until he returns.

The New York Mets must be wary of Jake Arrieta, as he is no longer the starting pitcher he once was.

However, it has become clear the team is not going to settle with the starters currently on the rotation. The team is interested in veteran arms to fill out their rotation, and familiar ones at that…

One name that catches fan’s eyes is Jake Arrieta. Everyone remembers his dominance with the Chicago Cubs from 2014-2016. It would be fun if that Arrieta came to Queens… but that is not who he is anymore.

The rise of Jake Arrieta

Back in 2013, Arrieta was dealt from the Baltimore Orioles to the Chicago Cubs, this coming in his fourth season in the majors. While he posted a 5.46era in three and a half, he would go onto have a 2.73era over four and a half seasons in Chicago.

Arrieta was a completely different pitcher with his strikeout rate skyrocketing to an average of 8.9 per nine innings from 7.0. He also owned a WAR of 20.0 with the Cubs, compared to 0.1 with Baltimore. Talk about a change of scenery playing an impact!

From 2014-2016 specifically, Arrieta was arguably the best pitcher in baseball. He won a Cy Young award in 2015, with a 22-6 record and 1.77era. He also made the All-Star game in 2016 on the Cubs’ way to winning the World Series.

By the time he hit the market in 2018, he was leaving as a Cubs legend.

The slow fall of Jake Arrieta

In 2018, Arrieta signed a three-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, with the team hoping he would regain his ace form after posting a 3.53era in 2017. Instead, Arrieta’s numbers would continue to decline.

Arrieta had a 3.96 era in 2018, 4.64era in 2019, before a poor 5.08era in 2020. His earned run average has gotten worse each year since his All-Star berth, and he is no longer a strikeout pitcher.

In fact, his 6.5 strikeouts per nine innings mark this past season is his lowest since he was first traded to the Cubs in 2013. Arrieta was also very hittable in 2020, with batters hitting for a .298 average against him. Clearly, Arrieta’s best days are well behind him.

Arrieta’s current outlook

At this point, Jake Arrieta is definitely not an ace anymore, and at best is a backend starter. He has made at least 24 starts every year since 2014 with the exception of 2020, so he certainly is durable.

Except the Mets cannot approach Arrieta as the solution to their problems. Yes, he is an innings eater with playoff experience, but he is also going to be 35-years-old. Most importantly, his loss of velocity in recent years has shown more often than not.

Want your voice heard? Join the Rising Apple team!

Write for us!

Simply put, there are a lot of worse options on the market than Jake Arrieta, yet the Mets must be aware he is not the pitcher he once was.