By Sam Bush
Jake Arrieta, whom the Phillies signed to a three-year, $75 million deal in 2018, is going back to Chicago after failing in Philly.
The Cubs are nearing a one-year, $6 million deal with Arrieta, ESPN is reporting.
Arrieta, 34, starred for the Cubs from 2013 to 2017, winning a Cy Young Award in the 2015 season and helping the team to three playoff appearances and a World Series championship in 2016. In the 2015 and 2016 seasons, he threw two no-hitters and won 40 games.
Arrieta pitched brilliantly for the Phillies in May 2018 — he had an 0.90 ERA in five starts — but otherwise struggled with inconsistency and injury.
He was 22-23 with a 4.36 ERA and in 64 starts with the Phils and averaged under six innings per outing. Both of his last two seasons. here ended on the injured list with elbow and hamstring injuries, respectively.
The Phillies signed Arrieta to a three-year, $75 million contract in March 2018. It wasn’t the deal Arrieta had hoped for earlier that offseason, but he took it and during his first season with the Phillies drew a salary of $30 million, which, at that time, was the largest one-year salary ever for a Philadelphia athlete.
