Report: Blue Jays, Rockies among teams to check in on Arrieta
A starting pitching free-agent class devoid of All-Star talent has led to former Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta receiving plenty of interest early this offseason.
The Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers have already been linked to the right-hander, and now the Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Rockies, and Texas Rangers have all reportedly checked in with his agent Scott Boras, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
Arrieta is coming off something of a down season by his standards, posting a 3.53 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 163 strikeouts in 168 1/3 innings. His ERA and WHIP were the highest he's posted across the last four seasons, while the innings pitched were the second-fewest over that time.
Despite that, Arrieta remains one of the top pitchers in the majors and would immediately give any rotation he joins a major boost. Over the past four seasons, the 31-year-old has provided the fifth-most WAR (18.5) of any starter in the majors - behind Clayton Kershaw, Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, and Max Scherzer.
Both Arrieta and fellow top free-agent starter Yu Darvish are expected to land at least $100 million this winter.