It’s not official yet, but Bronson Arroyo thinks his days as a Red may be over:
“I haven’t had one conversation with them,†Arroyo said. “They could be taking care of other things or other issues. The sense I get is by not having any conversation with me, is they’re going in a different direction. [Assistant GM] Bob Miller usually likes to get a leg up on these things and have a conversation.
Arroyo doesn’t think the Reds will make him a qualifying offer, which would be in the neighborhood of $14 million. If the Reds do make that offer, and Arroyo turns them down, the Reds would get a draft pick as compensation when he signs elsewhere.
The risk from the Reds side is that Arroyo will accept the qualifying offer and return next season. Now, that’s not such a bad thing if you are a big Bronson Arroyo fan like me. But $14 million is a lot of dough for a team that will need money to improve in other areas, especially when the Reds can just hand Arroyo’s rotation spot to Tony Cingrani.
Of course, if the Reds make the offer and Arroyo doesn’t accept it, the Reds would be taking a different sort of risk. Without Arroyo, Cincinnati’s depth in the rotation would be non-existent. Unless a certain fire-balling lefthander returned from the bullpen to become a starter once again, that is. (Dare to dream.)
Arroyo hopes to get a two-year contract on the open market, and I bet he gets it. We’ve probably seen the last of Arroyo in a Reds uniform. If so, he’ll be remembered very fondly in the Nation.