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Coming off a National League Cy Young Award in 2015 and a dazzling start this season, Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta is seeking big money and a long-term contract from the team that helped him reinvent his career.  

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Cubs, Arrieta Far Apart in Contract Talks

Friday, April 29

Per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, Arrieta is seeking a seven-year deal, and the Cubs are currently offering four years, with “no optimism” that a deal gets done soon. 

Arrieta has been nearly unhittable since the 2015 All-Star break. He had a 0.75 ERA, 55 hits allowed and 113 strikeouts in 107.1 innings in the second half last year en route to winning the NL Cy Young Award. 

Proving his late flurry was no fluke, Arrieta is off to a 5-0 start this year with a 1.00 ERA, 18 hits allowed, 32 strikeouts and one no-hitter in 36 innings this season. He’s making $10.7 million this season, his second year being eligible for arbitration, per Spotrac. 

Even though Arrieta’s performance warrants consideration for a long-term contract, the Cubs have all the leverage with their star right-hander. He’s under control through next season and will be a free agent heading into his age-32 season in 2018. 

Zack Greinke, who turned 32 last October, signed a six-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks in December after finishing third in NL Cy Young Award voting with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015. He’s struggled out of the gate this year, admittedly in a small sample size, posting a 6.16 ERA with an MLB-high 39 hits allowed in 30.2 innings.  

But long-term deals for pitchers over the age of 30 are a riskier gamble because the stress of pitching, combined with advanced age, can lead to health problems. CC Sabathia has been an albatross for the New York Yankees since 2013. 

The Cubs front office is revered in MLB because it builds through drafts and trades, while largely avoiding big mistakes. Its big investment this winter, Jason Heyward, was unique because he was a free agent at 26. 

If Arrieta continues to be the most dominant starter in baseball, he will eventually get the deal he seeks. It may not come from the Cubs, but they don’t have to worry about losing him for two years. 

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Chicago Cubs star Kris Bryant missed one game after leaving the field during the Cubs’ April 28 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers after suffering a mild sprained right ankle while running the bases in the third inning. However, he’s ready to return.

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Bryant Active vs. Braves

Sunday, May 1

Bruce Levine of WSCR in Chicago reported Bryant will bat third and play left field against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

Bryant One of the Top Stars Leading 1st-Place Cubs  

Bryant is hitting .289 with four home runs, 15 RBI and a .372 OBP for the first-place Cubs (17-5). 

The 24-year-old had a hot 2015 spring training but wasn’t called up to the MLB level right away last season. It didn’t take long for that to change, and Bryant proved he was worthy of the immense hype.

By the end of June 2015, the prodigy already had 10 homers, 41 runs and 43 RBI—the first Cubs rookie ever to do that, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Spearheading a new era in the Windy City, Bryant and his club’s young core have created an electric and winning atmosphere at Wrigley Field again. 

It was wise for the Cubs to exercise caution with Bryant, but the team will be happy to see him back in the lineup on Sunday.

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Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta gave up an earned run in the fifth inning of his start against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, which ended his scoreless streak inside the friendly confines of Wrigley Field at 52.2 innings.

The Cubs passed along word of the remarkable run on their official Twitter feed and noted Elias Sports Bureau research showed it was the second-longest home scoreless-innings streak in MLB history.  

Milwaukee ended the streak with what started as a routine inning. Yadiel Rivera struck out, and Hernan Perez grounded out to begin the fifth after four scoreless frames from Arrieta. But then Jonathan Villar singled, stole second and scored on a double by Alex Presley.

It marked the first of two extended streaks to end Thursday. Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald highlighted the other after someone pinch hit for the right-hander in the bottom of the fifth:

A starter must go at least six innings to register a quality start. So even though Arrieta gave up just the single earned run over five frames, the streak ends.

He exited the contest with the Cubbies holding a 6-1 lead after the fifth. It wasn’t the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner’s most efficient outing, however, as he had four walks for the second straight start. He issued just two free passes in his first three outings combined.

Of course, the four walks in his last start got overshadowed by the no-hitter he twirled against the Cincinnati Reds last Thursday. In the aftermath of that memorable performance, he sounded off to Bob Nightengale of USA Today about opponents thinking he’s using performance-enhancing drugs:

I’ve heard players, and I’m talking about some of the best players in the league, question whether I’ve taken steroids or not. Some of the things I hear are pretty funny, and some people are idiots, frankly.

I’ll see on Twitter, ‘My close source revealed to me he’s on steroids.’ Well, the 10 tests I take a year say otherwise. I eat plants. I eat lean meat. I work out. And I do things the right way.

If there are guys still on it, I hope they get caught. I care about the integrity of the game. I wouldn’t want to disappoint my family, my friends, my fans. That’s a huge motivating factor in doing it the right way.

Clearly that type of talk strikes a chord for Arrieta and rightfully so. It’s not a surprise when players who struggled early in their careers before enjoying high-end success hear those type of whispers, so full credit to him for taking a stand against it.

He’s been nothing short of outstanding since the start of the 2014 campaign. The fact the Brewers were able to get a measly one run off him in five innings and broke two streaks in the process illustrates that. He’ll look to start new streaks when he returns to the mound next week against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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The Chicago Cubs‘ title aspirations have hit an early speed bump this season with catcher Miguel Montero battling an injury to his back. 

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Montero Placed on DL

Thursday, April 28

Per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Cubs placed Montero on the disabled list and called up Tim Federowicz to take his place. 

Montero sat out Chicago’s game on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers with back stiffness. 

After being acquired by the Cubs prior to last season, Montero had a strong bounce-back campaign with a .248/.345/.409 slash line in 113 games. 

As good as Montero was with the bat in 2015, though, his real effect was felt on defense. He ranked sixth among all catchers in runs above average and plus-calls, which reflects the number of “favorable” strikes called received, per StatCorner.com.  

Given the importance of catcher defense, Montero’s absence will be felt by the Cubs. They do have a loaded roster, as well as other catching options, but none are as strong as Montero. David Ross is still a solid backstop, ranking 12th in runs above average last year. 

Federowicz is a career backup who hasn’t played in the big leagues since 2014 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has a career slash line of .194/.247/.300 in 247 at-bats, but owns a strong throwing arm behind the plate with a caught-stealing percentage of 37, per Baseball-Reference.com. 

Even though there are bigger stars on the Cubs, Montero is among the most indispensable players on the roster. His absence will change the dynamic with Chicago’s pitchers, as well as manager Joe Maddon’s lineup.

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Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta has throttled into a sphere of superstardom following a few mundane seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, but the 2015 National League Cy Young Award winner is sick of anonymous claims that he’s been aided by the use of performance-enhancing drugs.    

In an interview with USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale published Tuesday, Arrieta said he’s heard the criticism lobbed his way ever since he started fanning batters like one of the league’s best. 

“I’ve heard players, and I’m talking about some of the best players in the league, question whether I’ve taken steroids or not,” Arrieta said. “Some of the things I hear are pretty funny, and some people are idiots, frankly.

“I’ll see on Twitter, ‘My close source revealed to me he’s on steroids.’ Well, the 10 tests I take a year say otherwise. I eat plants. I eat lean meat. I work out. And I do things the right way.”

After going 20-25 with a 5.46 ERA over the course of three-and-a-half seasons with the Orioles, Arrieta has turned the corner and morphed into one of MLB‘s most dominant pitchers. Steady improvement was evident during the second half of the 2013 season and the 2014 campaign, but his 2015 campaign served as a revelation of sorts. 

Not only did Arrieta win a league-best 22 games while tossing four complete games and three shutouts, but he notched his first career no-hitter before earning Cy Young honors. This season, Arrieta has maintained dominant form with a 4-0 record, 0.87 ERA and the season’s first no-hitter. 

However, the 30-year-old made it clear he hasn’t violated any rules or cut any corners to achieve greatness. 

“If there are guys still on it, I hope they get caught,” Arrieta told Nightengale. “I care about the integrity of the game. I wouldn’t want to disappoint my family, my friends, my fans. That’s a huge motivating factor in doing it the right way.”

Arrieta also discussed his future in the Windy City and made it clear he plans to cash out with the Cubs or another franchise when he hits the open market in 2017.

“If we don’t work out a deal here and I go to free agency, I will get six or seven years,” Arrieta said. “No doubt about that. I’d like to stay in Chicago, but if they don’t want me, somebody will.”

Nightengale added that Arrieta and his agent, Scott Boras, sought a seven-year contract extension during the offseason only to be rebuffed. However, the star pitcher reiterated he’d like to remain with the Cubs if they’re amenable to changing their negotiating tactics. 

“I know the Cubs don’t typically do six- or seven-year deals, but I think there are obviously times when there should be exceptions,” Arrieta added, per Nightengale. “I think I’ve done pretty well here. I would enjoy staying in Chicago. But when the opportunities are out there like they are, I’m going to keep an open mind.” 

If Arrieta can maintain a semblance of his current pace, the Cubs would be wise to seek a long-term partnership with their most prized pitcher.

According to CSN Chicago’s Christopher Kamka, Arrieta is 20-1 with a 0.86 ERA, 173 strikeouts, 33 walks and 0.697 WHIP over his last 24 regular-season starts.

Those numbers may not be sustainable as Arrieta ages into his 30s, but even slight regression would keep him nestled in the league’s elite-pitching tier. 

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After pounding the Cincinnati Reds 9-0 Sunday, the Chicago Cubs have now scored 38 runs in their last four games.

So, naturally, there’s offensive optimism aplenty for Chicago. Lob a dart at the lineup card and, chances are, you’ll hit a guy swinging at least a moderately hot stick.

One Chicago hitter, though, is making a particularly compelling case at the plate: First baseman Anthony Rizzo, who clubbed a pair of home runs in Sunday’s rout and appears primed for a career power binge.

Here is one of his most recent bombs, courtesy of MLB‘s official Twitter feed:

Rizzo has smacked five home runs in his last five games, and it could easily have been six, as USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale pointed out:

Entering play Monday, Rizzo has eight dingers on the season. That matches his career high for a single month, set in July 2014. With five games left on the April slate—against the basement-dwelling Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers, no less—Rizzo seems destined to set a new personal fence-clearing best.

If he maintains this pace, or anything close to it, Rizzo could vault past his single-season career high of 32 home runs, also set in 2014.

That would help ease, if not erase, the loss of sophomore slugger Kyle Schwarber to a season-ending knee injury. And it would officially establish Rizzo as one of the game’s premier offensive forces.

Good as he’s been since arriving full time in the big leagues in 2013, it’s easy to lose sight of Rizzo among the Cubs’ constellation of stars. Kris Bryant, the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, has that new-player smell. Jason Heyward is the big-money free agent with the bag full of tools.

Rizzo, though, is quietly compiling a sterling resume. He’s made the All-Star team and finished among the top 10 in NL MVP voting each of the last two seasons. His 11.2 wins above replacement (WAR) during that same span ranks eighth-best among all MLB position players, per FanGraphs.

In March, Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein labeled Rizzo a “sneaky MVP candidate,” per Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post.

With the way Rizzo’s been going, you can safely eliminate the “sneaky” part.

Rizzo, as Svrluga points out, has already beaten cancer—Hodgkin’s lymphoma, to be precise. And he survived a rough debut with the San Diego Padres in 2011, when he hit .141 in 49 games, to become a force on the North Side.

Rizzo now has more home runs in a Cubs uniform than all but four left-handed hitters, per MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat and Mark Sheldon.

The 26-year-old Rizzo occupies a leadership role in the clubhouse, as veteran catcher David Ross explained, per Svrluga:

The makeup of this team revolves around him. He can relate to me—probably one of my best friends on the team. But he’s also attached to those young guys. He’s been a Cub for a long time, and you look at him and the example he sets and the way he acts around them every day. He’s the young veteran.

Intangibles are well and good, and even with skipper Joe Maddon on the top step and playoff-tested arms Jon Lester and John Lackey in the rotation, these green Cubbies can use more leaders.

Launching the ball over the fence, however, is its own kind of valuable. If Rizzo can surpass the 40-homer plateau this season—a goal that becomes more attainable with each blast—it shifts an already dangerous Chicago attack into an even higher gear.

There’s credit to go around on this hyped Cubs team as they charge toward their curse-busting goal. Scoring 38 runs in four days will do that for you.

Just make sure you save a heaping portion for Anthony Rizzo. Swinging for the fences, after all, can make a guy extra hungry.

All statistics current as of April 24 and courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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Fact: Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta is the second pitcher all-time to throw multiple no-hitters without suffering a loss in between them.

Bleacher Report will be bringing sports fans the most interesting and engaging Cold Hard Fact of the day, presented by Coors Light.

Source: ESPN Stats & Info

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Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta tossed a no-hitter in Thursday’s 16-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds, becoming just the second player ever to throw a pair of no-hitters without taking any losses in the time between, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Arrieta‘s other no-no occurred Aug. 30 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, helping him eventually take home National League Cy Young honors last season.

He made just nine regular-season starts between the two historic outings, which trails only Johnny Vander Meer (zero) and Warren Spahn (five) for fewest starts separating two no-hitters.

Vander Meer, of course, is the only pitcher besides Arrieta to avoid any losses between no-hitters, as he threw two in a row in June 1938.

The Cubs nearly set another record in support of Arrieta, recording the largest margin of victory in a no-hitter since 1884, when the Buffalo Bisons won 18-0 in support of Pud Galvin, per MLB Stat of the Day on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Arrieta now has 24 consecutive quality starts in the regular season, putting him in a tie for the third-longest streak in MLB history, per Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN Stats & Info).

Furthermore, he joined Larry Corcoran (three) and Ken Holtzman (two) as the only pitchers to throw multiple no-hitters for the Cubs, per ESPN Stats & Info.

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There were doubters—critics and naysayers who said Jake Arrieta was destined for regression after his otherworldly 2015 campaign.

Instead, the Chicago Cubs right-hander and reigning National League Cy Young Award winner has blasted deeper into the stratosphere.

On Thursday in Cincinnati, Arrieta defined dominant, twirling a no-hitter for the second straight season in a 16-0 Cubs drubbing of the Cincinnati Reds. In the process of hammering down those 27 historic outs, he cemented his status as baseball’s best pitcher.

In fact, USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale made that bold-but-true assertion before the feat was even complete:

No, the Reds aren’t an offensive juggernaut. But they’ve got a lineup littered with dangerous hitters, including former NL MVP Joey Votto.

And no, Arrieta wasn’t perfect Thursday night, as he issued a season-high four walks. But he was also pitching in a noted bandbox that was the second-most hitter-friendly yard in the Senior Circuit last season, according to ESPN’s Park Factors statistic. 

There’s simply no parsing this one, no tearing it down. Arrieta stated his case, unequivocally, by the banks of the Ohio River.

Honestly, the fact that he did it while struggling slightly with his command and perhaps not possessing his very best stuff only underlines the amazingness.

After those nine sterling frames, Arrieta’s ERA sits at an absurd 0.87. He’s surrendered just 15 hits in 31 innings while fanning 26. It’s early, sure. But this is merely a continuation of the brilliance he unleashed in 2015.

He’s 20-1 in his last 24 starts. Pitching wins are an outmoded stat, but still—pause and let that sink in.

Arrieta’s last—and first career—no-hitter came August 30, 2015, against the Los Angeles Dodgers in L.A. The Dodgers used Thursday’s no-no as an excuse to fire off a tongue-in-cheek tip of the cap:

Speaking of Los Angeles, they have a guy by the name of Clayton Kershaw who, like Arrieta, pitched a no-hitter in 2014 as a reigning Cy Young winner.

Also like Arrieta, Kershaw has a credible claim to the “best pitcher in baseball” label. Maybe over the course of the 162-game grind, Kershaw will again successfully argue his case, as he has so many times before.

Or maybe a young gun like the New York Mets‘ Noah Syndergaard—who is living up to his Norse god nickname with triple-digit thunderbolts—will swoop in and steal the throne.

Today’s MLB is littered with top-shelf studs, in fact. Toss a rosin bag and you’ll hit one. Right now, though, Arrieta is the man. You can lean on the stats, and they’ll do the talking.

Or you can simply use your eyeballs.

Take the ninth inning on Thursday. With two outs and two strikes on the batter, Eugenio Suarez, Arrieta flipped a breaking pitch belt-high over the outside corner. Home plate umpire Dana DeMuth flinched, but he called it a ball. 

Another pitcher might have been rattled. Instead, Arrieta scowled, bore down and two pitches later—on his 119th throw of the night—induced a game-ending pop-up. (Really, DeMuth should buy Arrieta a beer for the flood of vitriolic hate mail he avoided.)

“It feels different the second time,” Arrieta said of his encore performance, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. “I was a little more relaxed as the game progressed.”

His catcher concurred.

“He’s capable of doing that every time,” Cubs backstop David Ross said, per Wittenmyer. “I think mentally he expects to do that. He’s not shocked when he does stuff like that.”

Yes, Arrieta is the guy who slid to the fifth round in the 2007 draft, where the Baltimore Orioles nabbed him. He’s the guy who didn’t post a sub-4.00 ERA until 2014, his fifth big league season, and wobbled frequently with his command.

That year, 2014, was also his first full season with the Cubs. Simply put, Arrieta has been reborn on the North Side.

Now, in his age-30 season—pitching for a loaded young team with legitimate championship aspirations—he has blossomed into an ace.

Not just any ace, either. An ace among aces. The ace.

There were doubters. On Thursday, Arrieta doused any who remained in a barrage of no-hit stuff and a cascade of celebratory sports drink.

That had to feel good.

All statistics current as of April 21 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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When Chicago Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber tore his ACL and LCL on April 7 after colliding in the outfield with Dexter Fowler, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if a few fans reached for a defibrillator.

Hysteria consumed parts of a tortured Cubdom on social media, with some fans panicked that the promising Cubs’ 2016 season was trashed. But that was just an overly emotional reaction.

Chicago quickly plugged the hole in its lineup, has remained one of baseball’s upper-echelon offenses and looks just as likely to end its 108-year World Series drought as it did prior to the Schwarber injury.

Disclaimer: Of course, the Cubs are worse without Schwarber from a talent standpoint. Losing a player of his caliber would hurt any team. It would be illogical to suggest otherwise.

But great organizations don’t allow injuries to derail a hopeful season.

Schwarber is more of a luxury than a necessity on this loaded Cubs roster. His loss doesn’t make them less of a contender to win the division. Winning is what counts—not the totality of talent on the roster by season’s end.

The Cubs only need to look to recent history to see that a key injury isn’t insurmountable, as just last year the St. Louis Cardinals lost ace Adam Wainwright for most of the campaign but still won the National League Central.

Chicago is in an even better position to lose Schwarber than St. Louis was when it lost its ace, as it can lose the 23-year-old without noticing it statistically. Heading into Monday night’s game, the Cubs were second in MLB with 71 runs scored, 14 behind the Cardinals. Chicago beat St. Louis 5-0 at Busch Stadium and closed the gap between the teams. The San Francisco Giants slipped into second in runs scored with 77, but the runs are still abundant.

The hallmark of the Cubs is their depth.

Top to bottom, this lineup can hurt any team. Shortstop Addison Russell hit the go-ahead home run in the eighth inning of the Cubs’ home opener against the Cincinnati Reds. He was the team’s No. 7 hitter that night.

Monday, it was Fowler, the leadoff hitter, who smashed a home run in the sixth inning to break a scoreless tie. The 30-year-old has been a key piece in the early going, as he’s hitting .378/.500/.711 with three home runs, 10 RBI and 10 runs scored.

Outfielder Matt Szczur has also provided some punch in 11 games, hitting .357/.471/.643.

Yet even as players try to fill Schwarber’s void, the focus is on this offense’s untapped potential.

Right fielder Jason Heyward (.188), second baseman Ben Zobrist (.217), first baseman Anthony Rizzo (.174) and third baseman Kris Bryant (.250) have all performed terribly at the plate this season. They are supposed to be the Cubs’ best offensive players—and likely will be by the end of the campaign.

But even as they struggle, Chicago continues to score, which speaks to the quality depth on the roster.

This team is built like Game of Thrones. You may have thought the show would take a nosedive after the “Red Wedding” (non-Thrones watchers, Google “Red Wedding Game of Thrones”) when so many popular characters were killed off. But the show remained highly rated as new, interesting characters were introduced.

Schwarber went out, and promising prospect Jorge Soler assumed a bigger role.

When the Cubs signed Heyward and re-signed Fowler this offseason, Chicago relegated Soler to the bench as the fourth outfielder. After Schwarber was hurt, he reclaimed his starting spot.

Yes, Soler has started slow. His numbers dipped to .216/.311/.378 on Monday. But given the small sample size, the expectation is that Soler will return to the .262/.324/.399 hitter he was last season.

And at times, he could be the player who set an MLB record last year by reaching base safely in his first nine postseason plate appearances.

The team also recently welcomed back Javier Baez, a once highly rated shortstop prospect, who will be turned into a super-utility player to try to maximize his number of at-bats. The hole left by Schwarber will allow Baez to see starts in the outfield, and he’s been spelling Zobrist at second base thus far.

The Cubs activated him from the 15-day DL on April 15 after a short rehab assignment in Triple-A Iowa, and he has made an immediate impact in eight at-bats.

After singling in the ninth inning Monday in a pinch-hit appearance, Baez saw his numbers jump to .500/.500/.625 over three games. He will need to prove he can consistently play at a high level, but in the time Schwarber has missed, Baez has been a spark plug.

There’s even more talent for manager Joe Maddon and president Theo Epstein to use.

Catcher Willson Contreras, the sport’s No. 48 prospect, according to MLB.com, is expected to make his debut this season. He provides the Cubs insurance should catchers Miguel Montero or David Ross get hurt.

Schwarber, who will have surgery on his knee this week, according to Maddon (via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune), was expected to mostly play left field but also was the third catcher on the roster.

No team travels on a straight road to the playoffs. But it appears every turn leads to October for the Cubs. Emotions have settled in Chicago as the Cubs have maintained their offensive power in Schwarber’s absence.

At times this season, he will be missed. Maddon may wish he had that left-handed power to use.

But as long as the Cubs offense still plays well, it won’t matter.

No one cares who’s credited with the RBI or scores the runs. The Cubs have a roster full of players who can do both.

Seth Gruen is a national baseball columnist for Bleacher Report. Talk baseball with Seth by following him on Twitter @SethGruen.

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