Agent Scott Boras makes pitch for Cubs to re
Jake Arrieta
After  Jake Arrieta  entered the 2017 season without a contract extension  most Cubs observers figured the right-hander was a goner.
Now that free agency has begun  thereâs little talk of  Arrieta  returning to the North Side.
âAnd to not have championship pitchers on your team? There arenât many of them. There are (none) with the championship numbers of  Jake Arrieta  in this market. We know that. And we have seen what great talents do in the postseason. Some do very  very well. â¦ And others in that environment  with great ability  do not do anything near that. Always in this game you have to seek and pay for value  and the goal is to win now. This is a now-winning team.â
Boras pointed to  Arrieta âs performance in the 2016 World Series  during which  he  won two games  including an elimination game.
âIf  Jake Arrieta  doesnât win Game 6  they donât win â  he  said. âAnd there are a lot of pitchers who do not win Games 6s and 7s and their teams lose and they donât become world champions. And the Cubs are a world champion and they have a chance to complete that  and other organizations are seeking that.
Boras called  Arrieta  âa big squirrel with a lot of nuts in his trees â suggesting the bigger the game  the better he performs. He compared  Arrieta  to Madison Bumgarner and Justin Verlander as elite postseason performers  referring to them as âthe ultimate cherry on topâ because of their records in elimination games.
After   [TGT] entered the 2017 season without a contract extension  most Cubs observers figured the right-hander was a goner.
Now that free agency has begun  thereâs little talk of  Arrieta  returning to the North Side.
âAnd to not have championship pitchers on your team? There arenât many of them. There are (none) with the championship numbers of   [TGT] in this market. We know that. And we have seen what great talents do in the postseason. Some do very  very well. â¦ And others in that environment  with great ability  do not do anything near that. Always in this game you have to seek and pay for value  and the goal is to win now. This is a now-winning team.â
Boras pointed to  Arrieta âs performance in the 2016 World Series  during which  he  won two games  including an elimination game.
âIf   [TGT] doesnât win Game 6  they donât win â   [TGT]   said. âAnd there are a lot of pitchers who do not win Games 6s and 7s and their teams lose and they donât become world champions. And the Cubs are a world champion and they have a chance to complete that  and other organizations are seeking that.
Boras called  Arrieta  âa big squirrel with a lot of nuts in his trees â suggesting the bigger the game  the better he performs. He compared  Arrieta  to Madison Bumgarner and Justin Verlander as elite postseason performers  referring to them as âthe ultimate cherry on topâ because of their records in elimination games.