Arroyo to D-Backs

[spursup]

Free-agent pitcher Bronson Arroyo and the Arizona Diamondbacks have reached agreement on a two-year, $23.5 million contract with a club option for a third year, team president Derrick Hall confirmed Friday.
Arroyo, who turns 37 this month, will make base salaries of $9.5 million in 2014 and 2015. The deal includes an $11 million club option for 2016 and a $4.5 million buyout.
The Baltimore Orioles also made a serious run at Arroyo, who was one of the top remaining pitchers left on the market.
Arroyo is 138-127 with a 4.19 ERA over 14 seasons with Pittsburgh, Boston and Cincinnati. He's pitched for the Reds since 2006, when they acquired him from the Red Sox in a trade for outfielder Wily Mo Pena, and was 14-12 with a 3.79 ERA and 124 strikeouts last season.
Arroyo's trademark is durability. He's surpassed 200 innings in eight of the past nine seasons. The lone exception was 2011, when he battled Valley Fever, mononucleosis and a case of whooping cough that caused him to lose 17 pounds. He still made 32 starts and logged 199 innings, and he has yet to appear on the disabled list in the big leagues.
Arroyo joins Patrick Corbin, Wade Miley, Trevor Cahill and Brandon McCarthy in Arizona's projected rotation. Randall Delgado is also in the mix, and top prospect Archie Bradley is working his way through the team's system and could be in the big leagues sometime this season.

 

[Villain]

Seems about right. I hated that he was linked to the Dodgers when everything was saying he wanted 3 years. He'd be fine for LA on a 1-year deal just to be the 5th starter, but I'm glad this ended up working out this way instead. Seems like a decent enough deal for the D-backs. Reliable veteran for not a back-breaking amount of money.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Seems about right. I hated that he was linked to the Dodgers when everything was saying he wanted 3 years. He'd be fine for LA on a 1-year deal just to be the 5th starter, but I'm glad this ended up working out this way instead. Seems like a decent enough deal for the D-backs. Reliable veteran for not a back-breaking amount of money.

Would have liked him for the Orioles for a two year deal, but not three. The amount is worth it for the durability, and for a rotation that has a lot of young pitchers, that is huge for Arizona.

I guess the Orioles and Dodgers either didn't offer the second year, or they didn't offer enough money. The choice of Arizona surprises me some, as they have a hitters park, but he did pitch well at home with the Reds so I guess that's not a concern.

 

[Goober]

Would have liked him for the Orioles for a two year deal, but not three. The amount is worth it for the durability, and for a rotation that has a lot of young pitchers, that is huge for Arizona.

I guess the Orioles and Dodgers either didn't offer the second year, or they didn't offer enough money. The choice of Arizona surprises me some, as they have a hitters park, but he did pitch well at home with the Reds so I guess that's not a concern.

Justifying this contract, by saying Arroyo is durable is silly. Considering Arroyo's age, it's like saying "I don't worry about my 90 year old grandpa driving, he's never been in an accident!" Arroyo may never spend time on the DL, but with his declining skillset, he is a liability to the team, just like the 90 year old driver with poor coordination is to everyone on the road.

Seeing that the pitchers just below Arroyo are going to be signing minor league deals (Capuano, Maholm, Saunders, Baker, etc.) This deal makes no sense at all. If I was the Orioles, or Diamondbacks for that matter. I would have sat out free agency this year, and waited for my pitching prospects to develop, and a better crop of free agent starting pitchers in next years free agent class.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Justifying this contract, by saying Arroyo is durable is silly. Considering Arroyo's age, it's like saying "I don't worry about my 90 year old grandpa driving, he's never been in an accident!" Arroyo may never spend time on the DL, but with his declining skillset, he is a liability to the team, just like the 90 year old driver with poor coordination is to everyone on the road.

Seeing that the pitchers just below Arroyo are going to be signing minor league deals (Capuano, Maholm, Saunders, Baker, etc.) This deal makes no sense at all. If I was the Orioles, or Diamondbacks for that matter. I would have sat out free agency this year, and waited for my pitching prospects to develop, and a better crop of free agent starting pitchers in next years free agent class.

I mean, Paul Maholm's one year, $1.5 million deal to the Dodgers is a much better deal than $12 million a season for Arroyo in terms of just money. However, the ability to count on Arroyo taking the mound when you need someone to pitch 7 or 8 innings to help save an overtaxed bullpen is glossed over by a lot of people. Also, just a cursory look at the numbers doesn't indicate a declining skill set to me, either, but I'm sure you have other stats that make me see differently. In an off-season with a lot of spending though, teams could do a lot worse for a pitcher they know is going to take the mound and make all of his starts.

As for the Orioles, they have a policy of not handing out more than three years to a free agent pitcher, regardless of being a starter or reliever, or if they are Greinke, Garza, Arroyo or Maholm. It's not even a Dan Duquette policy either, Angelos has done this for many years. So we aren't going to pick up a difference-making starter in free agency like a Greinke. For $12 million though, I am kind-of glad we stayed out of this.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Justifying this contract, by saying Arroyo is durable is silly. Considering Arroyo's age, it's like saying "I don't worry about my 90 year old grandpa driving, he's never been in an accident!" Arroyo may never spend time on the DL, but with his declining skillset, he is a liability to the team, just like the 90 year old driver with poor coordination is to everyone on the road.

Seeing that the pitchers just below Arroyo are going to be signing minor league deals (Capuano, Maholm, Saunders, Baker, etc.) This deal makes no sense at all. If I was the Orioles, or Diamondbacks for that matter. I would have sat out free agency this year, and waited for my pitching prospects to develop, and a better crop of free agent starting pitchers in next years free agent class.

Those guys aren't "just below" Arroyo, those guys are either bums who put up a 5.00 ERA last year (Saunders), or dudes with serious injury questions (Baker, Capuano).

Where is this evidence of a "declining skillset"? He's got a skillset that doesn't really age. He's never thrown hard enough to break glass in his life. He's the same guy now he was when he came up. Arm angles, deception, wacky wiffle ball breaking balls. He profiles as a guy who can pitch well into his 40's.

He figures to be Arizona's #5 starter. If he matches what he's done the last two years, he'll give them 200 innings of 105 ERA+ out of the #5 slot, while 25-28 teams are cycling through a collection of AAAA/fringy/prospect geek types who give them an 80. This is what Arizona was starring at with the likes of Randall Delgado. Now that problem is solved.

The $9.5M per is a bargain. The $4.5M buyout year three is pretty pricey.

The only way this is bad for Arizona is if Arroyo declines sharply overnight. Possible? Sure. But I don't see it. Otherwise, he's a guy who takes the ball every start like clockwork, gives you 200 average (but usually above) average innings on the back end (which is something severely underrated), and saves your bullpen out of the #5 spot which is usually where your bullpen ends up being taxed.

He was nuts for wanting like $16M per for 3 years, but that's why he didn't get it. $9.5M per is fair for what he gives you.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I should also add that Arizona is trying to compete. I'd agree with bypassing the more expensive veteran for a back end rotation slot in favor of a pre arb kid who needs the work if they didn't have designs on winning. I can't kill a team who thinks they can win for spending less than $10M on a SP to sure up am iffy rotation spot.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

I should also add that Arizona is trying to compete. I'd agree with bypassing the more expensive veteran for a back end rotation slot in favor of a pre arb kid who needs the work if they didn't have designs on winning. I can't kill a team who thinks they can win for spending less than $10M on a SP to sure up am iffy rotation spot.

It also helps that most of their rotation ahead of Arroyo is cost-controlled for them for the duration of his deal. Once it's time to start paying Miley and Corbin, they will have Arroyo's salary off the books and can put it towards those two. I also think a lot of people underrate the fourth and fifth starter on a team. As you already hashed out, things can get pretty hairy for teams who have a revolving door at the fifth starter spot, and they use up their bullpen making up for it. Sometimes, we focus so much on the top three, because those are the guys starting playoff games, and we ignore what it takes to get to that point.

 

[Mesa]

Arroyo will be solid for the 4th starter spot. A guy who just eats inning and isnt a gas can. Plus he owns the Dbacks so not having to face him will be a nice change this season. Also hopefully Bradley can get the 5th starter spot out of camp or 4 weeks in and that means not having McCarthy in the rotation will win us more games.