MESA, Ariz. – It’s rare that an athlete gets to complete a tenure with a team and achieve both individual and team success. In Jake Arrieta’s first run with the in Chicago, he achieved both, winning the National League Cy Young Award in 2015 and helping the Cubs win the World Series in 2016.
For Arrieta, returning to the Cubs wasn’t a matter of having unfinished business or needing to have a sense of completion. The 34-year old right-hander isn’t returning to the rotation he once led to be an ace, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have something left to prove.