9:41pm: Sheldon tweets that Arroyo will receive a $2MM base salary if he makes the Major League roster. Arroyo’s contract is heavily incentive-laden, as one would expect, and he can earn $6MM worth of incentives (topping out at 32 starts made), bringing the maximum potential value of the contract to $8MM.
9:34pm: The Nationals announced that they have signed Bronson Arroyo to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. Yesterday, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reported that the veteran right-hander had received a minor league contract offer from the Nats but was drawing interest from four other teams, including the Reds. The soon-to-be 39-year-old is represented by Turn 2 Sports Management.
Arroyo figures to serve as a depth option for the Nationals, who currently project to have a top three of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez in their rotation. Behind that strong trio is young right-hander Joe Ross, who looked impressive in his Major League debut in 2015, and right-hander Tanner Roark, who had an outstanding 2014 campaign before losing his rotation slot when the Nats made a surprising play for Scherzer last winter. Arroyo could allow the team to either give Ross some additional time at Triple-A — though he didn’t look like a pitcher who needed considerably more development time — or to keep Roark in the bullpen, if it’s decided that relief work is his best role. However, the Nats may very well elect to use Yusmeiro Petit in Roark’s previously occupied swingman role.
Suffice it to say, it is not immediately clear how Arroyo fits into the picture, but there are many options in the event that he makes the team out of Spring Training. By agreeing to terms with the Nationals, Arroyo will be reunited with Dusty Baker, who served as the Reds’ manager for six of Arroyo’s eight seasons in Cincinnati.
With the Reds, Arroyo established himself as one of baseball’s most durable workhorses, averaging 211 innings per season from 2006-13 and posting a 4.05 ERA with 5.9 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 40. percent ground-ball rate. Arroyo cleared 200 innings in every season with the Reds with the exception of 2011, when he finished with 199 frames pitched on the year. However, all of the innings eventually caught up to the right-hander, who signed a two-year, $23.5MM contract with the Diamondbacks in the 2013-14 offseason but suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament just 86 innings into that deal. Arroyo underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2014 and missed the entirety of the 2015 season as he recovered. Along the way, his contract was traded to the Braves and eventually the Dodgers, though Arroyo never suited up for either club. It’s unclear what type of mileage can be expected out of his arm in 2016, though he’ll open the year more than 21 months removed from his surgery, giving him more recovery time than the traditional Tommy John patient.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported an agreement was in place (via Twitter).
Minor or major?
Before this deal, the Nats rotation was Scherzer, Strasburg, Gio, Ross and Roark. I guess this gives the team some insurance in case something goes wrong with Ross or Roark, but does Arroyo really make this team better?
Absolutely this move makes the team better, but it only makes the team marginally better. Given it is an incentive laden deal that tops out at 8 mil, the reasonable expectation should be that the Nats have a quality #6 starter for 2-5 million and the more his contract costs the team the better off the team is with signing him. Anyone in the opening day rotation gets injured for a significant part of the season or if Ross or Roark struggle this move makes tons of sense at the end of the year.
And they will be deferring his 800k salary over the next fifteen years.
Up vote
I’m laughing so hard right now
Don’t be ridiculous… 800k over the next 400 years! They have payroll considerations!
Arroyo had clear paths to rotation shots with San Diego, and Cincy. Why would he take a job with Washington where they are just about set in the rotation. He’s merely minor league depth. I guess Baker was the reason.
Yeah, as a Reds fan this makes no sense to me. The Reds only have two guys who are sure to be in their opening day rotation in Iglesias and DeSclafani. A rotation spot would be Arroyo’s job to lose, with several other candidates being young and inexperienced enough that they might benefit from more time in AAA. Instead he goes somewhere where he’s seemingly on the outside looking in.
He’s clearly close to Bryan Price, his pitching coach for 4 years, as well as Dusty Baker. Arroyo has made it clear that he’s kept in contact with Price, and they got breakfast or something earlier this winter. I kinda wonder how, if at all, the manager fits into the decision.
The $2m base salary is slightly more than the Reds gave Jason Marquis and Kevin Gregg last winter (both also came to camp as minor league free agents), I guess they’re frightened of anything perceived as similar to those highly unpopular moves. Even if it involves a fan favorite like Arroyo.
It could possibly be because he is nearly 39, and not many 39 year olds with minimal bullets in their arm, want to pitch for a bottom feeder.
Cincy and San Diego offer next to nothing in terms of being competitive.
Familiarity with pitching coach and manager plus playing on a team that has the pieces in place to make and go far in the playoffs. I bet Dusty told him everything he wanted to hear, he’d be a leader to the young guys, their building a winner, they need such a durable awesome pitcher, blah blah blah
Arroyo hasn’t pitched competitively in awhile. “Leading” or even being top 3 pitcher in Reds staff exposes lots of weaknesses in his ability as a 39 year old who hasn’t thrown in the bigs for a year and a half. Re-establishing himself as an insurance policy/stopgap/potential innings eater on a competitor gives him a much better shot at a deal next year.
10 year 100 mill. Hey, Chen got what he wanted
10 year 100 mill. Hey, Chen got what he wanted.
Just curious if the reds didn’t give him a decent minor league contract
I would’ve signed there too if the other team with the most interest was Cincinnati.
Arroyo has stronger ties to the Cincinnati Reds than you probably do. He only left because they weren’t interested in extending him (with Cueto, Latos, Bailey, Leake, and Cingrani/Simon).
It was probably a harder decision for Arroyo to avoid returning to Cincinnati than most players.
Of course he does because he played for them. As for me, I only live in Cincinnati. Besides, if I was a 39 year old starting pitcher looking for one more go-round, I’d want it to be with a team that’s actually going to compete.
Roark should request a trade or a release if the Nats aren’t going to let him start.
Arroyo is depth and insurance in case someone gets hurt. If Roark is healthy and effective during spring training, he will be in the rotation. Arroyo is no threat to him.
Right, most likely it would be Ross going to AAA to work on his changeup, if everyone is healthy and Arroyo makes his case. But the real question is would Arroyo accept a AAA assignment? The Nats have an excellent track record with TJ=recovery guys.
Why cant Arroyo just be the swingman he is probably going to be on an innings limit any way and the swingman on the nationals tends to get work when Strasburg goes out in the first 4 innings a lot.
Arroyo hasn’t been used as a reliever since the beginning of his career. His value has always been a rubber arm that you can count on to pitch, usually fairly deep into games, every 5th day.
Moving him onto an irregular schedule and different role (throw a few innings today, and be ready to go 2 or 3 days later)… who knows how that’ll work out, especially with his surgically repaired elbow.
Also Arroyo never relies on velocity, and isn’t the sorta guy who you’d expect to be any more successful out of the bullpen. On the contrary, I suspect he’d be less successful with that role, often without the necessary time to go through his usual pre-game routine… a routine that other pitchers should try to copy, after his years of consistent health.
Arroyo doesn’t have a choice to accept or not accept an assignment to AAA since he’s signed to a minor league deal he’s pitching in the minors unless the Nats want him in the bigs.
I don’t think you know what a swingman is its long relief + Spot starts he is not going to be pitching in high leverage situations. His Rubber arm is not happening a year after TJ he is going to be on a strict pitch count and innings limit. What schedule has he had the past 2 years exactly, the guy is 38 if he can’t change his schedule his career is done.
He’s an article XX(b) free agent, so he will need to be paid a retention bonus if he isn’t added to the 25-man roster. His deal could also have opt outs in it, though that hasn’t been reported.
Bronson Arroyo is 39?! Damn I’m getting old…
One guy I haven’t heard anything about is AJ Cole. What’s up with him? Isn’t he a rotation candidate for the Nationals, as a 24 year old with decent AAA numbers?
First of all, he’s not going to pitch in the minor leagues if he doesn’t make the team. Arroyo or the Nats would have no interest in it, he’d just be let go.
Second of all, why would he be on an innings limit? As if he’s some young starter with his whole career ahead of him. If they end up needing him for over 120 innings, something probably went wrong as he should be the 6th/7th starter.