Jon Heyman made some ripples the day after Yu Darvish signed, reporting that the Cubs had made a courtesy call to Jake Arrieta during which they essentially offered him the Darvish deal. They knew Arrieta would turn them down, which he did (sort of), so it was more about letting him know that they were thinking of him and that they still valued him.
“This wasn’t Arrieta flat-out rejecting the six-year, $126 million offer the Cubs made to Darvish, as some misinterpreted Jon Heyman’s initial report for FanRag Sports,” Patrick Mooney wrote for The Athletic (subscription required).