Rozner: Chicago Cubs, Arrieta can wait on contract

The shock waves were felt throughout the game.

As word got out that Stephen Strasburg was signing a long-term extension in Washington, thick chum was tossed about and the scramble began immediately to determine the ramifications.

Players, agents, execs and media wanted to know how Strasburg could give up his chance to test free agency in a thin market only months away from a bidding war, especially in Chicago where the hottest pitcher in history - Jake Arrieta - was a year and seven months away from a very big payday.

How could this have happened?

Well, it's not really that complicated. The contract may be, but the road map isn't.

Ownership wanted Strasburg to remain with the team. Strasburg wanted to stay with the Nationals. And the agent did the job his client wanted him to do.

This is the part that continues to confound the masses.

In 27 years, I've never once known Scott Boras to decline a player request. His job has been - and continues to be - to present a player with all the options, negotiate the best deal possible at that moment and allow the player to do what he wants.

But because Boras has taken so many players to free agency and set so many records in the process, the assumption has always been that it is somehow his fault when a player leaves a city.

It's a fallacy. If a player leaves, it's because he doesn't like the deal on the table and wants to maximize value in free agency.

Strasburg wanted to stay, so Boras made the best deal he could make.

In this case, the seven-year extension worth $175 million allows Strasburg to opt out after three or four years, at age 31 or 32, when presumably Strasburg will be in his prime and has built his resume to the point where he is worth more than he is today.

In the meantime, Strasburg has guaranteed wealth that allows him long-term security and peace of mind, no longer fearing another injury or an unknown future, something Strasburg admitted was on his mind.

Which brings us to Arrieta, who is on a pitching run never before seen in major-league history.

It would be shocking if Arrieta signed an extension now, only a year into this amazing performance. He would certainly be giving up tens of millions if he signed today.

From the Cubs' standpoint, they can't yet evaluate exactly what is happening here. If Arrieta continues for the rest of this season, both he and the Cubs will have a better idea of what they believe Arrieta is, and what he can continue to be.

So there's really not that much for the two sides to discuss right now, unless Arrieta wants to leave enormous piles of cash on the table.

That could change. If the Cubs win the World Series, owner Tom Ricketts might at that point decide that Arrieta has delivered the Cubs what no one else could in more than a century and be willing to pay more money and hand out more years than he originally thought prudent.

But as we watch it play out, Cubs fans need not fear that Boras will be the reason Arrieta leaves town after the 2017 season.

"I've heard it a lot and it's factually incorrect," Boras told me on the Score last year. "I've had a number of players who have signed long-term contracts prior to free agency."

Boras pointed to Greg Maddux signing for another five years with Atlanta in July 1997, just months from free agency. In fact, Boras and Maddux tried to get the Cubs to talk about a new deal in July 1992 at the All-Star Game in San Diego but obviously didn't have much success with that Cubs management team.

"It really depends on working out a (deal) that's fair for both sides," Boras said. "I work for people. I'm a lawyer. I represent players, and I certainly invite players to tell me their needs and wants. I provide information and try to facilitate those goals.

"Players have to make very difficult decisions at times, and I don't mind bearing the brunt of accountability for a player leaving.

"Really, you're an information provider and you listen very intently about the player's needs. Each player has a road map to give you and we ask the questions and record the answers and follow in that direction."

So it's really Arrieta's choice. Arrieta will do what's best for Arrieta. The Cubs will do what's best for the Cubs. Maybe they find common ground and meet somewhere in the middle.

That may not happen any time soon, though it's fair to wonder just how much a championship flag might change everyone's thinking.

brozner@dailyherald.com

• Listen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's "Hit and Run" show at WSCR 670-AM.