(AUDACY) When a team opts to sign a 35-year-old pitcher who was released by another organization after posting a 6.88 ERA, you know that club is struggling in the pitching department. And when that same team designates him for assignment after only four starts, you know that he probably didn't improve all that much.
In the case of right-hander Jake Arrieta, he actually got far worse.
The Padres on Tuesday designated Arrieta for assignment after he posted a 10.95 ERA in four starts with San Diego, which took a chance on Arrieta by signing him in mid-August after the Chicago Cubs had let him go. It continued Arrieta's trend of struggling in recent seasons. Across 2019 and 2020 with the Phillies, Arrieta produced a 4.75 ERA, a figure that ranked in the bottom 25 among qualified pitchers (minimum 150 innings), and he was one of only 13 pitchers to allow at least 10 hits per nine innings over that span (via Stathead).
| Rk | Player | IP | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Nova | 10.79 | 206.0 | 5.07 |
| 2 | Michael Wacha | 10.59 | 160.2 | 5.15 |
| 3 | Antonio Senzatela | 10.55 | 198.0 | 5.50 |
| 4 | Rick Porcello | 10.49 | 233.1 | 5.55 |
| 5 | Kyle Freeland | 10.44 | 175.0 | 5.76 |
| 6 | Jon Lester | 10.41 | 232.2 | 4.64 |
| 7 | Mike Leake | 10.37 | 197.0 | 4.29 |
| 8 | Jorge Lopez | 10.29 | 162.2 | 6.42 |
| 9 | Trevor Williams | 10.21 | 201.0 | 5.60 |
| 10 | Jakob Junis | 10.18 | 200.2 | 5.38 |
| 11 | Yusei Kikuchi | 10.18 | 208.2 | 5.39 |
| 12 | Tanner Roark | 10.14 | 213.0 | 4.90 |
| 13 | Jake Arrieta | 10.00 | 180.0 | 4.75 |
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Arrieta went 0-3 with the Padres, logging 12 1/3 innings and allowing 15 earned runs. He surrendered 13.1 hits per nine innings.
How did the Padres' desperation signing of Jake Arrieta work out?
— Andrew Simon (@AndrewSimonMLB) September 22, 2021
They just DFA'd him, meaning his tenure ends with the highest ERA in Padres history for a pitcher with at least 4 starts (10.95).
Now one spot lower on the list: Carlton Loewer (9.69).
In his final start with San Diego, he also exited with a minor injury.
It remains to be seen if Arrieta earns another chance with a big league team, but the return on investment hasn't been promising when clubs have tried to harness the 2015 Cy Young magic that briefly put Arrieta atop baseball's pitching hierarchy.
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