The Phillies signing of Jake Arrieta is a bold move to show that the organization expects more of the team in 2018 than in the last couple seasons.  During his five seasons in Chicago, Arrieta compiled a 68-31 record with a 2.73 ERA and 793 Strikeouts in 803 Innings Pitched.  Arrieta also brings hardware with him to Philadelphia as he was awarded the 2015 NL Cy Young Award, 2016 Silver Slugger, and a World Series Ring as a member of the Cubs 2016 Championship team.

Baseball Hall of Fame Voter and writer for The Athletic Jayson Stark joined The Sports Bash on Tuesday discussing what the Phillies are getting with the 32 Year Old Arrieta:

“He’s been healthy and he’s got a lot fewer innings on his arm than a lot of these Free Agents - On the other hand, he has a violent delivery and you have to be concerned about a guy who’s got a delivery like he has.  The numbers speak for themselves, he’s not the guy who won the Cy Young – His Strikeout Rate has declined, his velocity has declined from 95 to about 92 (MPH), Walk Rate is up….But something interesting happened when you dive into his numbers last year, he had a rough first half but July and August his ERA was 1.60 and you can see if you really look into it the way the Phillies did and he complete changed his approach as the season wore on last year.  He really ditched that Four Seam Fastball and went almost exclusively Two Seam (Fastball), went to that Sinker (pitch), doubled his Slider usage – His Slider/Cutter was the pitch him that made him (win a) Cy Young….He definitely figured out what was working, what wasn’t working and he changed.  Is he the guy that won that Cy Young (Award)?  No because he doesn’t throw 95 MPH anymore but I don’t think there’s any doubt that even this Jake Arrieta…is one of the 40 best pitchers in the league, maybe better than that.”

Hear what Stark had to say about the expectations for the Phillies in 2018, how Arrieta fits into the rotation, and more Baseball talk

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