Jake Arrieta had two sensational seasons for the Cubs. His third year was good but the numbers were dropping from prior years. Despite that and the age of 32, Arrieta signed a three year $75 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.
In June Arrieta tore cartilage in his left knee. He did not inform the team and went 1-5 with a 6.35 ERA in his last nine starts. His final record was 10-11 with a 3.96 ERA. Disregarding his injury he pitched competitively through the year. However, he did not approach his two great years with the Cubs.
During the offseason he had surgery to clean up the meniscus in his knee. On August 17 , it was announced that he would have season ending surgery to clean up bone spurs in his right elbow. The year concluded with an 8-8 record and an ERA of 4.64.
2020 was a shortened Covid 19 season. He started 9 games, finished 4-4 with a 5.08 ERA. This ended his three year contract and he became a free agent again. During his three year $75 million contract (shortened by a 60 game season in 2020), Arrieta was 22- 23 with ERAs of 3.96 and higher. This was a huge financial commitment with very little return for the Phillies. The team finished 3rd twice and 4th once. Their 3 year record was 6 games under .500. We can only wonder what the $75 million could have done with other players on the roster rather than an average injured player.
