Free agent hurler Bronson Arroyo is drawing interest from multiple teams this winter, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark (on Twitter). So far, the Nationals, Pirates, Orioles, Padres, Braves, Reds, and Phillies have all called on Arroyo.
Arroyo, 39 in February, is now 17 months removed from Tommy John surgery. For his part, Arroyo tells Stark that he is “perfectly fine.” It’s been a while since Arroyo took the hill, as he missed about half of 2014 and all of 2015 after going under the knife. He bounced between organizations as part of the salary-swapping elements of a pair of trades, but he has said in the past that he expects to be ready to go in the spring.
The Reds’ interest in Arroyo was reported back in November, but GM Dick Williams indicated that they would only have interest if if he can first demonstrate that he’s healthy. Arroyo enjoyed a solid eight-year run with the Reds before departing for the D’Backs via free agency after the 2013 campaign. He contributed nearly 1700 innings in that stretch, carrying a 4.05 ERA with 5.9 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9.
Considering all he’s been through in the last year-and-a-half and the money he’s earned over his career, no one would fault Arroyo for considering retirement. However, now that he’s apparently healthy and has interest from at least seven teams, it sounds like the right-hander has no intentions of hanging up his spikes. For his career, Arroyo has pitched to a 4.19 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 across 15 big league seasons. He’s not hurting for cash either, as he has raked in more than $90MM in the sport.
I would figure a contending team would be the priority. To have done the work in rehab at his age, giving it one last shot seems a foregone conclusion.
Surely, they are a priority, but at his stage, the opportunity is just as important. Maybe with a team that is looking for some veteran innings, he will get an extended opportunity to shine and be a targeted piece by June-July.
I would love for us to have him back for a mild investment.
Good veteran presence and his junky arsenal of pitches is fun to watch.
Arroyo stated he would like to return to Cincinnati. He’d be a terrific mentor for all of the Reds’ young pitchers.
he’s made $90M but his friend stole his yacht, so, he’s down a little
I egt a HUGI trde for you ppl. I now i wil get heat but hear mi outt
Braves sign Arroyo for 23 mil a yr
Thy then trade him to the Dodgers.
Braves trde:
Freemen
Arroyo
Teheran
Swanson
Newcomb
Dodgers trade:
Seager
Uriasss
Puig
Grandal
Cum pick in 2016
Everyone is hapy!
That’s an awful trade.
They would have to wait until July
A few issues with this trade. 1st the Dodgers have A-Gon so they don’t have a spot for Freeman. 2nd if the Dodgers wanted Arroyo that bad they would just outbid everyone to get him. 3rd the Braves have 2 catchers on their mlb roster already so they don’t have room for Grandal. 4th the Braves only trade Freeman if they get a 1st baseman back in the deal. 5th and possibly most importantly, the Dodgers do not have a competitive balance pick to trade.
Damn 3 posts and not one was full of bashing. I guess that chj kid with all his crazy trades is more talented at trolling then me.
You are being funny, but you can’t do sign and trade deals in the MLB
Part of the trolling!
Arroyo will be lucky to get 2.3 a year much less 23 million haha wtf
Hello
Imitation is a form of flattery
Please kill yourself.
How do we report comments? This one needs it.
If you meant me, you are right. I’m sorry. That trolling guy really annoys me.
Please forget you ever knew about this site/ap.
I know you’re joking so this is not a criticism of you, but I hope everyone reading that fake proposal and thinking it’s legitimate understands that Corey Seager is literally more valuable than every player the Braves would be sending combined.
It’s already been said, but as a Braves fan, your insane. Nice touch on the *cum pick though…
It’s already been said, but worth saying again that every part of that is insane. That being said, nice touch on the “cum pick in 2016”
You lost me at $23 a mil. Thats ace money.
You all shouldn’t be calling him an idiot. This trade gave me the joke of the day and laugh of the day.
with that many teams interested i doubt the pirates are in the running unless he wants to play for a team that will probably be in the playoffs again (assuming they figure out what to do with the rotation)
Definitely Phillies. A mentor for Nola etc. Two years they will be back in
the hunt.
do you like bagels?
Unless the Orioles make a formal offer, I don’t count them as showing interest.
Why wouldn’t the o’s be looking at him if they can get on a minor league deal invite to spring
Another pirate signing by the cheap nutting on the horizon?
A 39 year old who sports a career 4.53 FIP – how did this guy last so long in the bigs, and why would he have teams clamoring for his services?
Perhaps an innings eater.
The guy pitched 199+ innings a year for 9 years straight. He was never a star but he was a guy you could depend on to go on the mound ever 5th day, pitch a game that would allow your offense to keep up, and give relief to the bullpen. He was exactly what teams wanted out of a back end starter.
You do realize a mid 4 era is what you want from the back end of your rotation
Maybe not what you want. More like what you expect or are willing to accept.
So the Mets want Matz to pitch 4.50 ERA? Are they going to be disappointed when its 3.50?
Your going to take the deepest rotation in the league as an argument? If dickey or Chavez end up with a 4.50 era, the jays are laughing
He’s made over $90M – I guess a better question is: why was he paid like elite or an all-star?
90 million over 15 Major League seasons is hardly elite money for a consistent starter.
At least in part, it’s because over a 9-year window, his ERA beat his FIP by about .7. There are some pitchers who have established an ability to do so, and Arroyo’s clearly one.
I still don’t think he’s someone I’d rush out to sign, but it’s pretty easy to see how a guy who was always a reliable innings eater, who had solid ERAs in four of five years, and who isn’t going to cost much of anything would at least have a number of teams kicking the tires.
Scott Kazmir / Yovani Gallardo / Mike Leake / Doug Fister / Ian Kennedy
The better guys available.
Josh Johnson / Mat Latos
Scary but they may be attractive to team who wants upside.
Kyle Lohse / Jeremy Guthrie / Aaron Harang / Mark Buehrle
Inning eating veterans.
There are still guys out there no need to rush.
Better guys are available, but they’re also more expensive, and they might be picked up by more competitive teams.
Arroyo is also an outgoing guy who knows how to pitch – he’s never relied on velocity, instead mixing and matching and adapting – he’d be great for working with young teammates, on a team where that’s necessary.
As long as the braves could sign him for cheap I’m good with this and he is an innings eater and that’s something that we would need this year.
Hasn’t pitched in 17 months after major surgery and you are counting on him to be an innings eater?
Hope the Bucs don’t grab him. I wouldn’t have a big problem with it if they sign him though. Just feel like Cliff Lee is the pinnacle of potential for the one year, fix your issues and sign a big contract next year that has been the organizations calling card for the last 3-5 years
I love Cliff Lee for a team like Oakland, along with Kazmir. Gray-Lee-Kazmir-Hill-Alvarez has a pretty high ceiling, and they have depth to cover injuries.
I’d rather have Latos on that deal than Cliff Lee. Also, I’m kidding but….if we are going to sign all of our former pitchers, why don’t we give Wakefield a call and see if he wants to come out of retirement and be the long guy outta the bullpen?
One question regarding Bronson Arroyo…. Why?
How many pitchers can you think of not named Mark Burhle that have averaged ~200IP for 10 years?
My favorite part is “first the Braves sign him for $23 million a season.”
Ya know, just because.. Then they trade him to the Dodgers. As if he’s the missing link on that deal.