The Cubs made a last-ditch call to free agent right-hander Jake Arrieta, gauging his interest in a deal similar to what Yu Darvish eventually agreed to Saturday, FanRag Sports reported.
Darvish signed a six-year, $126 million deal, but before that deal was closed, the report says, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein put in a final call to Arrieta, who had been a mainstay of the team's rotation in recent seasons.
The point of the call was to see if Arrietta would accept a deal similar to the one the Cubs offered Darvish, FanRag Sports says: "Epstein felt like he owed Arrieta that call to gauge that possibility. After all, not only had Arrieta put together one of the great half-seasons in baseball history to win a Cy Young (in 2015), he’d come up big time and again when it counted most and was a key figure in the Cubs’ historic 2016 World Series championship."
However, Arrieta wasn't ready to accept the offer immediately, and Epstein landed Darvish instead.
MORE: MLB free agent rumors: Cubs, Yu Darvish agree to six-year deal
Arrieta's agent, Scott Boras, reportedly is pitching him to teams as a better overall performer than Darvish and the top free-agent starter on the market.
FanRag Sports lists five teams as the most logical landing spots for Arrieta: the Brewers, Cardinals, Nationals, Phillies and Twins.