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Bronson Arroyo Signing: Reactions

Arroyo is an Arizona Diamondback for the next two seasons. What does the world think?

By Jim McLennan

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Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Team

  • [ArizonaSports] Hall: Bronson Arroyo is 'such a good clubhouse guy, such a good leader' "This is a guy since 2006 who is second in quality starts to only Matt Cain. First among all pitchers in wins and in starts and in innings. He's just a durable guy. You don't want to jinx anything, but he's never been on the disabled list as a minor leaguer or major leaguer. And, he brings a great veteran presence, which is something that you need. We've heard all along that this is a guy you want to target to get in your clubhouse, because he's such a good clubhouse guy. He's such a leader."
  • [dbacks.com] D-backs players appreciative of Arroyo move - Miguel Montero: "It's good to have a guy with that kind of experience in the rotation, especially with a bunch of young pitchers. He takes the ball every five days regardless, and he eats innings. He knows what he's doing on the mound. I see him like Livan Hernandez pretty much. They're trying their best to give us the best team they can. As a player, you really appreciate that from the front office. They're here with you. They want the guys to go out there and win, whatever it takes. It's good for all the players to see they're trying as we are."
  • At D-backs Fan Fest:

Good!

  • [Venom Strikes] Signing Bronson Arroyo Makes Perfect Sense - "Some might think committing at least $23.5 million dollars to a soon-to-be 37-year old pitcher with a lot of innings on his arm is foolish. I can’t argue with that. However, I think Arroyo still has some fuel left in his tank. His numbers in 2013, broken down by start, does not indicate a dropoff in production is coming. Even if they get only a season and a half worth of good performances out of the righty, the money well have been well-spent."
  • [Rant Sports] Signing Bronson Arroyo Completes Rotation - "In no sane world is anybody going to be overpowered by Arroyo, but he certainly will outwit hitters with his mix of off speed pitches and location on the mound. This should especially translate well to Chase Field, which is a pitchers’ park and will not torment the starting pitcher for having a 39.6 percent career fly ball rate. If anything, Arroyo should see a drop from his 3.79 ERA of 2013–when he pitched for the Cincinnati Reds at a hitters’ park that is Great American Ball Park--and a rise in the 2.5 WAR he compiled."

Bad!

  • [ESPN] Arizona Diamondbacks make mistake by signing Bronson Arroyo - "The oddest part about the signing is that the D-backs already had a player a lot like Arroyo last season and gave him away for 50 cents on the dollar: Ian Kennedy. Kennedy was also a homer-prone, fringy-fastball, strike-throwing innings eater type, but didn't have Arroyo's platoon-split issues and will make just $6 million in 2014."
  • Or, an alternative comparison:

Neutral

  • [AZ Central] Diamondbacks agree to terms with veteran pitcher Bronson Arroyo on two-year deal - "The deal pushes the Diamondbacks’ payroll to about $108 million, a franchise record, easily eclipsing the previous high of $102 million in 2002, the year after the club’s only World Series championship."
  • [MLB Daily Dish] Bronson Arroyo reconciles with the passage of time - "He's one of only four pitchers to have thrown more than 2,000 innings since 2004, and over that span, he was decidedly not bad. Not exceptionally good, but unequivocally not bad. Perhaps Arizona general manager Kevin Towers felt his team was one not bad player away from avoiding his team's third straight 81-81 finish. And perhaps Arroyo felt that he could pitch, strum, and croon his way into the hearts and minds of the D-backs' front office."
  • [Big League Stew] Bronson Arroyo goes west to Diamondbacks on two-year deal - "Arroyo has become quite adept at walking the tightrope and remaining useful despite the high home run totals... The best way to describe Arroyo: He's not the flashiest guy around and certainly doesn't possess ace type stuff. He's just a true pitcher in every sense of the word. He's confident in his game and understands his limitations, which allows him to adjust, limit damage, survive, and live to pitch another valuable inning. That latter is what Arizona will count on the most."
  • [SBNation] Bronson Arroyo signs with the Diamondbacks, but did they improve? - "The Diamondbacks have depth, youth, and a solid top-to-bottom lineup. They're a good team, and Arroyo makes them better than they were yesterday. I'm just not sure if they're better than they would have been if they had done absolutely nothing."
  • [FOX Sports] Bronson Arroyo agrees to deal with D-backs - Other than Arroyo's track record, another selling point was the fact that his signing was not tied to draft-pick compensation, as are remaining free agent right-handers Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez. A team will lose a No. 1 draft pick if it signs Santana or Jimenez, and it seemed to be a price the D-backs did not want to pay. "First-round picks are pretty significant," Towers said. "It would take a special player for us to give up a first-round pick."
  • [FanGraphs] Arroyo and Burnett’s Batted Ball Profiles - "His age, lack of a true out pitch, and utter reliance on keeping batted ball authority in check makes him a difficult guy to rely upon for a material period going forward. He projects as a nice one or at most two-year fit for a club with a big ballpark, that doesn’t have a high percentage of lefthanded power hitters in their division. Anything more than two years, $16M would scare me." Worth noting: of the 15 LH/switch hitters with 20+ HR in the NL last year, only three (Cargo, Agon and Venable) are in the West.

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