Cubs Cut Ties With Jake Arrieta Following Wednesday's Disaster

Jake Arrieta's first stint with the Chicago Cubs made him a star. He led the major league in both wins (22) and shutouts (3) in 2015, and his two wins in the 2016 World Series are hard to forget.

His second stint was a disaster. But at least it was a short-lived disaster, as the Cubs have placed the 35-year-old on unconditional release waivers.

Jake Arrieta has been placed on unconditional release waivers, per the team. He’s done as a Cub.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) August 12, 2021

Cubs News

Arrieta has appeared to be past his prime for a few years now, but his play has been especially disastrous in 2021. He posted a 5-11 record in 20 starts, notching a heinous 6.88 ERA.

Wednesday's performance was really the icing on the cake, getting shelled for 8 earned runs in four innings.

Capping off the night with some ill-advised comments to a long-time Cubs reporter, Arrieta's season will leave a sour taste in Cubs fans' mouths for a while.

He made this comment to @MLBBruceLevine. I heard the audio (which we'll play on @BernsteinRahimi). Bruce was perfectly audible. Zero sound issues or muffling. Arrieta was just being a jerk. Imagine worrying about someone's mask after getting humiliated on the mound like that. https://t.co/yMwPTzYXXJ
— Jay Zawaski (@JayZawaski670) August 12, 2021

His play in 2015 and 2016 should endear Arrieta to Cubs fans for a long time to come.

But the way 2021 played out means it could be a while before the first memories that come to mind of Arrieta as a Cub are fond ones.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.