Make no mistake about it, Jake Arrieta is going to get paid … a lot. In fact, there have been reports that his agent Scott Boras, the man often referred to as ‘baseball’s Antichrist,’ sent teams a 75-page binder on behalf of his client informing them of what he has to offer, for which he is seeking a contract in the $200 million range.

Although Arrieta may not get the $200 million contract he is seeking, it’s probably safe to say that he will get very close to that amount. Will it be from the Dodgers? (Photo credit – Gene J. Puskar)

Should there be a team out there willing to take on such a contract, it would carry an average annual value (AAV) of $33.3 million for a six-year deal or $40 million for a five-year deal. But while there is little doubt that Guggenheim Baseball Management Group has this kind of money available, are they willing to spend it and jump right back into having to pay a ridiculously high MLB-leading luxury tax penalty for a sixth consecutive year?

Probably not.

When you consider that the Dodgers just dumped a combined $47.5 million by trading first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, left-hander Scott Kazmir and right-hander Brandon McCarthy (who are all in the final year of their respective contracts in 2018) in exchange for former Dodger Matt Kemp, who is still owed $21.5 million over each of the next two seasons, they would be right back where they were prior to unloading AGon’s, Kazmir’s and McCarthy’s salaries.

Although the Dodgers have made it abundantly clear that they are hoping to trade Kemp and the $43 million remaining on his 8-year / $160 million contract which runs through the 2019 season, it is also abundantly clear that, at this point, there isn’t a team out there willing to take on that kind of salary for a 33-year-old outfielder with noticeably declining defensive skills.

Taking this one step further, even if the Dodgers are unable to find a trade partner for the once-fan-favorite who fell from grace when he inferred that Los Angeles and San Diego were not real baseball towns, they have already hinted that they may simply designate Kemp for assignment, in hopes that some other MLB team will sign him as a free agent and at least give the Dodgers some payroll relief on the $43 million that they still owe him.

There is no disputing that Arrieta, who tossed a no-hitter against the Dodgers on August 30, 2015 on 115 pitches en route to winning the 2015 NL Cy Young award, would be the perfect right-handed partner for Dodgers ace left-hander Clayton Kershaw. But there is also no disputing that acquiring the soon-to-be 32-year-old (on March 6) Farmington, Missouri native could be the difference between the Dodgers returning to the World Series in 2018 or not.

Then again, with pitchers and catchers set to report for spring training on February 13, 2018, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi may simply roll the dice with who they already have on their existing 40-man roster when it comes time to set their starting rotation for their 2018 season opener on March 29 at Dodger Stadium.

That being said, how comfortable are you with this?

Stay tuned…