Bronson Arroyo is considered to be the best available pitcher on the baseball free agency market. After players like Masahiro Tanaka and Matt Garza signed to their respective teams, it seemed like only a matter of time before Arroyo was off the market. However, the ace still remains unsigned and he is not too happy about it.
When talking with ESPN's Jayson Stark, Arroyo said up to 12 teams have contracted his agent this winter and not one deal has gotten done. He has not even turned down an offer because not one contract has been placed in front of him. Arroyo has put up an ERA below 4.00 for the past four of five seasons. For a pitcher that has never landed on the disabled list and started more games than anyone else since 2005, why is he not signed?
"I get [Clayton] Kershaw," Arroyo said, via ESPN.com. "I get why he got all that money. But then you've got guys like Dice-K [Matsuzaka], who came over here and was good for the first couple years but then didn't pan out. And when he doesn't pan out, they all just forget and go on to the next guy who's not proven, and pay him. Meanwhile, they forget about guys like me, who have done the job for the last eight or 10 years, and treat them like they've never done anything in this game. That's hard, man."
The biggest knock for Arroyo appears to be his contract demands. The pitcher wants a deal of at least three years and in the ballpark of $30 million. For a right-hander approaching 37, most MLB general managers believe the most he can get is a two-year contract with a third-year option.
"I don't know what to do," Arroyo said. "I'm not trying to break the bank. But I am a guy who's performed for the last 10 years as consistently as anybody in the game. And for some reason, nobody's thrown me an offer yet. I know, eventually, it'll get done. There are too many holes in too many rotations, and there aren't enough pitchers out there who can throw you 200 innings. So I'm just sitting here waiting for an offer."
So where could Arroyo end up? The Reds have moved on from the right-hander. The Twins were interested, but they signed Mike Pelfrey instead. His best option could come with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team is still interested in adding one more arm to their impressive rotation. The Seattle Mariners have been considering signing one more pitcher and insist they still have money left to spend. The Baltimore Orioles have also been dancing around Arroyo in recent weeks.
Right now, it appears the pitcher will have to be willing to lower his demands if he wants on a roster by spring training. Teams have shown they are willing to wait for him to get desperate enough.
