We’re well past the point of being surprised that there are still big free agents out there, but Jake Arrieta is a whole different animal. Other than a few low-grade rumors early in the winter, what little market there was for him has disappeared over the last few weeks. I mean, the most traction on any progress came when Jon Heyman reported that Arrieta had turned down the Cubs’ offer of a contract similar to what Yu Darvish ended up getting from them.
The situation wasn’t quite as simple as that, as the Cubs didn’t really offer Arrieta a contract that he could have turned down.