No player better illustrated the immediate change in the way front offices approached free agency this offseason than Jake Arrieta. After winning a Cy Young award and a World Series in four-and-a-half standout seasons with the Cubs, Arrieta hit free agency for the first time in his career. His own team barely made an effort to sign him, and a slow market held back by Shohei Ohtani and Yu Darvish further complicated matters. Arrieta had little traction until March before finally signing with the Phillies just about two weeks before Opening Day.
Given how late Arrieta signed, it wasn’t a surprise to see him start slowly.