Why the Phillies Need Jake Arrieta and Arrieta Needs the Phillies

The market for free agent starting pitcher, Jake Arrieta, has been quite bleak this winter. There have been a few murmurs here and there about him being possibly connected to the Washington Nationals and then there was talk that the Cubs had offered him a six-year deal prior to signing Darvish, but beyond that, there has been nothing.

With that being said, one team that has almost been on the outside looking in on his race this whole time with very little mention are the Philadelphia Phillies. Up until recently, it was purely speculation that the Fighting Phils would be interested in Arrieta, but last week, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, confirmed that both sides are indeed talking. Right now, it appears the only hold up would be the length of the contract because Arrieta wants a long-term deal, while the Phillies are only willing to do a short-term one.

That's where the Phillies need to step up their game and realize the significant need they have for a starting pitcher of Arrieta's caliber. Right now, on paper, their rotation is young and talented, but many of the starters are number 3 or 4 starting pitchers on a normal team. The team doesn't have that veteran, workhorse, leader type of pitcher anchoring down their rotation at the top and someone who can eat up a lot of innings to eliminate as much overuse on those young starters arms as possible.

If Arrieta is looking for a long-term deal, then the Phillies should have absolutely no problem doing that. Sure, it's understandable that they don't want to be locked down with a multi-year, expensive contract, but that's where the team needs to get creative and build a contract that includes incentives along with opt-outs throughout the length of the contract. For instance, the Phillies could give Jake Arrieta a six-year deal and include an opt-out after the second and fourth seasons. The options would be player and team based so if Arrieta is performing well after two years and the team like what he's done, then he can opt-in and stay there for an additional two years. On the other hand, if things go south and Arrieta fails to live up to expectations, then Arrieta and the Phillies can agree to decline the option and he can hit the open market once again. It's pretty much as simple as that.

From an incentives standpoint, incentives would encourage Arrieta to become the Cy Young starting pitcher that he was just two years ago again. The incentives can be based around either an innings pitched scale or the number of games that Arrieta starts over a certain period of time. Either way, incentives are included in many players contracts to entice them to stay healthy, train at a higher level, and do as much as they can to stay on the field during the regular season. This is exactly what the Phillies could do with Jake Arrieta and ensure that they are getting the most bang for their buck.

Beyond that reason, the Phillies need Jake Arrieta because he is the perfect player to carry them forward into the next phase of their rebuild plan. Last year, the Phillies finished 21st in the league with a starting rotation ERA of 4.80 over 890.1 IP. In that span, they gave up the 9th most earned runs (475) in the league along with a .272 Batting Average Against. If the team adds Jake Arrieta, the likelihood of both of those stats going down is extremely high especially given the fact that Arrieta is a veteran and the rest of the starters will likely take another stride forward in their development this coming season.

Aaron Nola 

From a starting rotation staff perspective, this move makes sense as well. Not only does the addition of Arrieta give the Phillies a workhorse at the top of the rotation, he also helps give them a solid 1-2 punch for the next several years assuming he would stay in Philadelphia for the entire length of the contract. 24-year old, right-hander, Aaron Nola, was the Phillies best starting pitcher last year pitching to the tune of a 3.54 ERA over 168.0 IP. He also led the team with 184 strikeouts over that period as well. The best part is that Nola got better in the second half of the season and given that he is only 24 years of age, he still has yet to reach his peak meaning that we are only starting to see what a legitimate starting pitcher he can be.

When you pair him together with Jake Arrieta, it just makes things look better and more legitimate. Both Nola and Arrieta can help the team stop losing streaks, the Phillies know they can count on both to give them innings, and have two options to pitch in critical games come the postseason here in a few years. Assuming the addition of Arrieta happens, that would push Jerad Eickhoff, Vincent Velasquez, and Nick Pivetta back one spot. All three are currently slated to be the Phillies number 2-4 starters.

In addition, the signing of Jake Arrieta would give the Phillies an unfathomable amount of depth beyond those five. They would also have Ben Lively, Zach Eflin, Mark Leiter, and Jake Thompson as depth options incase an injury happens or to use as trade chips should the team need to make a big splash come the trade deadline this year or next offseason. As they say, pitching wins championships and this would be one of those situations where it would be extremely valuable.

Although the Phillies are still in rebuild mode, they are not too far away from playing relevant baseball again and competing for a chance to make the postseason. The only thing holding them back now is having that legitimate, workhorse at the top of the starting rotation to pair with Aaron Nola. The perfect guy for the job is Jake Arrieta and if the Phillies are seriously wanting to contend in the near future, then they need to step up and meet the expectations of his camp. It's not like the team is hurting for money or doesn't have the payroll space to accommodate a contract like his either.