What It Means:

With top free agents coming off the board, the attention is now on Arrieta as one of -- if not the top -- the top pitching options on the market. He has connections with some of the people in Philadelphia, but there's a gap in what each party is looking for. The Phillies want a short-term deal, but Arrieta's been looking for more than that. However, if he's willing to do fewer years, he could still get a nice chunk of change and help Philly compete with a young nucleus.

In 30 starts, Arrieta went 14-10 with a 3.53 ERA and 4.16 FIP in 2017.