Strasburg's mega-deal catches attention of Cubs' ace Arrieta

Like everyone else in baseball, Chicago Cubs ace pitcher Jake Arrieta observed with great interest this week's contract extension signed by Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals.

Strasburg, 27, signed a seven-year, $175 million contract to stay with the Nats. He would have become a free agent after this season.

Arrieta, 30, considered to be the best pitcher in baseball, cannot become a free agent until after the 2017 season.

"You want to be paid with respect to how your peers are paid," said Arrieta's last year's Cy Young Award winner in the National League. "Guys want to be compensated fairly."

He said the only surprising aspect of Strasburg's signing was that it happened during the season. Of course, there are marketplace implications for Arrieta, who, like Strasburg, has superagent Scott Boras representing him.

"I don't know," Arrieta said before Wednesday's day-night doubleheader against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field. "I'm just here pitching. I feel like every year it (the market) goes up slightly. This year's free-agent class for pitchers is pretty thin, even thinner now that Strasburg signed early. It's different every year. That is why starting pitching is so valuable. There are not many guys that can pitch at the top of the rotation just kind of floating around.

"I think the misconception is that Scott wants everybody to go to free agency. For a lot of guys, it's smart to do that. As we've seen in the past, a lot of Scott's clients that have gone to free agency have been very well-compensated, and it worked out for them."

Arrieta and Cubs president Theo Epstein have maintained an open dialogue about an extension, even though there are good reasons for both sides not to hurry.

The pitcher gave a one-word answer when asked if he subscribed to the theory of giving the Cubs a hometown discount.

"No," he said.

Arrieta was traded to the Cubs from Baltimore, which drafted him in 2007. Free agency would be his first chance at choosing his location to pitch.

He said again that he loves Chicago and hopes to get something done.

"Really, most of the focus, if not all of the focus, has to stay on what we're trying to accomplish today," Arrieta said. "Like I've said before, financially, I'm fine with all this. That makes it easier for me as well as my teammates just to focus on trying to win as many games as we can, trying to separate ourselves from the next team in our division as quickly as we can, especially early in the season. The contract stuff will work itself out. If we keep winning, those kinds of things just all work themselves out in time.

"It's part of the job description. I've put myself in a situation, in a position, where these talks are coming up pretty routinely. I just deal with it on a day-to-day basis and go from there. I really don't put a whole lot of thought into it. I know you guys want to talk about it. Until something materializes, there's really not much to talk about."

Edwards comes up:

For Wednesday's doubleheader, the Cubs recalled relief pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. to be the 26th man on the roster, as is allowed for doubleheaders. Edwards pitched in 5 games for the Cubs last year.

Montero begins rehab stint:

Manager Joe Maddon said it's possible catcher Miguel Montero could be activated off the disabled list for this weekend's home series against the Pirates.

Montero, who is on the disabled list because of lower-back tightness, began a rehab assignment Tuesday at Iowa, going 0-for-3.

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