The Philadelphia Phillies and free-agent star pitcher Jake Arrieta are “having dialogue”, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.

According to Heyman, Phillies executives Andy MacPhail, Matt Klentak, Joe Jordan, among others, "love [Arrieta] from their days in Baltimore together." Arrieta, who was drafted by the Orioles, spent nearly four seasons in Baltimore before the club dealt him to Chicago in 2013.

Heyman writes, though, that the team would prefer to sign Arrieta to a shorter contract than the one he's seeking.

Arrieta, 31, helped the Chicago Cubs win the World Series in 2016, leading the Majors in wins that year. Arrieta posted a 3.53 ERA last season, and holds a career ERA of 3.57.  He took home the National League's Cy Young Award in 2015.

With the Cubs recently signing fellow starting pitcher Yu Darvish to a six-year, $126 million deal, it appears evident that the club has decided to move on from Arrieta.