Cubs release Jake Arrieta, ending their tenuous reunionRussell Dorseyon August 12, 2021 at 4:43 pm

It’s finally over.

Jake Arrieta’s return to the Cubs was anything but a feel-good story, and after another embarrassing showing against the Brewers on Wednesday, the team placed him on unconditional release waivers, effectively ending his time in Chicago.

Arrieta was signed by the Cubs during the offseason with the hopes of reinventing the 2015 NL Cy Young winner, and with a 2.57 ERA over his first five starts in April it appeared things would end well. But that was the last of Arrieta’s success this season.

The right-hander had just one start after May 1 in which he reached the sixth inning and sported a 8.35 ERA over that span. Things had gotten progressively worse as the season went along and over his last five starts, Arrieta was averaging less than four innings per start with a 14.09 ERA.

Wednesday felt like the end and after a seven-run first inning and another subpar outing, Arrieta didn’t have any answers for why things had gone poorly before making an exit.

“I’ve got nothing for you, man,” he said. “I’m doing the best I can.”

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