The Jake Arrieta Project

This weekend the Orioles will visit the Cubs, and on Friday they will face a familiar pitcher in Jake Arrieta. Jake is having a great year for the Cubs, posting a 6-4 record with an ERA of 2.61 in 19 starts. Seeing these numbers (and especially if he pitches well or even beats the Orioles), many Orioles fans will be lamenting the fact the Orioles ever traded him.

I guess these people don't remember how bad Arrieta was as an Oriole. In 63 starts (69 appearances) over 4 seasons he went 20-25 with an ERA of 5.46. Let that sink in. An ERA of 5.46. In 2012 his ERA was 6.20. Last season it was 7.23 before the Orioles traded him. He also averaged 4 walks per 9 innings, had a WHIP of 1.47, and averaged only 5 innings per start in his time as an Oriole. His best ERA in a season was his rookie year and it was 4.66. Every other season it was over 5. That's not just bad. That's Daniel Cabrera bad.

Photo Credit: USA Today

 Jake always had the “stuff” to be a good starting pitcher. But he could never get his head straight while in an Orioles uniform. How many times did it look like he was cruising and he would completely lose the strike zone, outthinking himself and getting himself into trouble? The Orioles sent him back to the minors in 2013, before finally trading him to the Cubs in the Scott Feldman deal.

At the time I could only say good job on this trade. Feldman was a solid veteran pitcher and Jake had a ton of chances and was not able to get the job done. The Orioles were trying to make the playoffs again in 2013 and had to bolster the rotation. The trade also sent Pedro Strop packing and no matter what the return in the trade was, sending him out of town was a plus.

Scott Feldman pitched well for the Orioles, but he wasn't able to help the team make the playoffs. I am sure a lot of people now will look at this trade and say what a horrible deal it was .Feldman didn't help the team make the playoffs and now Arrieta is pitching so well for the Cubs and Feldman is in Houston. I disagree. They Orioles needed a veteran pitcher that could give them innings last year in their playoff push and they'd given Arrieta more than enough chances.

Arrieta needed a change of scenery. While it's far from scientific, sometimes it's just that simple - guys need a change of scenery to succeed. Sometimes a trade is a kick in the butt, a wake up call. There is also far less pressure pitching for the Cubs right now than for the Orioles. The Cubs are not expected to win anything right now. The Orioles are in contention for the third consecutive season. Taking that into consideration, there is no guarantee that he would be pitching the same way in a much higher pressure situation in Baltimore if he was still on the team.

Photo Credit: foxnews.com

On top of all that, how would Arrieta have even made the team this year? After getting Bud Norris at the trade deadline last year, signing Ubaldo Jimenez in the offseason, and the likes of Kevin Gausman waiting in the wings there would have been little chance he would have made the team out of spring training. I for one am glad to see Arrieta pitching well now. I always liked him. But I am also not sorry the Orioles traded him, I just don't think he would have ever “gotten it” in Baltimore.

So even if he pitches well, heck even if he beats the Orioles, just remember how bad he was here and how many chances he got before you go cursing the Orioles for trading him. He needed to go somewhere else to figure it out. He needed a lower-pressure situation. I will still be rooting for him to pitch well (he's on one of my fantasy teams, after all ;) ) - just not when he takes the mound vs. the Orioles this weekend. On that day, I will be hoping he pitches like he did in an Oriole uniform.

--Matt Baggette @mlb930