Former Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta retires from baseball originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
It’s basically official. Former Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta is retired.
“I haven’t signed the papers, but I’m done,” Arrieta said on the Pardon My Take podcast in an episode released on Monday. “It’s time for me to step away from the game. At some point, the uniform goes to somebody else, and it’s just my time, really.”
Arrieta was a crucial member of the 2016 World Series run, throwing a pair of no-hitters across 2015 and 2016 and winning a Cy Young in 2015 after a 22-6 season with a 1.77 ERA.
He picked up wins in both of his 2016 Fall Classic starts, including the Game 6 outing that forced a decisive Game 7 in Cleveland. In nine career October starts with the Cubs, he posted a 3.08 ERA.
In 2021, Arrieta returned to the North Side looking for a bounce-back 2021 season after three injury-riddled years in Philadelphia.
Arrieta got off to a good start in 2021, holding a 2.57 ERA after his first five starts, but struggled from then on posting a 8.95 ERA over his last 15 starts with the Cubs. The Cubs ended up releasing Arrieta in August of that season.
“He was struggling. Not getting deep into starts,” team president Jed Hoyer said after Arrieta’s release. “We’ve been patient and tried to get through it and hopefully he’d come out the other side and pitch better. We weren’t there.”
Arrieta finished the season with the Padres where things didn’t get much better. The…