According to Ken Rosenthal, the Nats are interested in signing Bronson Arroyo to their rotation
Even with Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister out of the Washington Nationals rotation, it seems set as the team should be sliding Tanner Roark and Joe Ross into the last two spots. However, the Nationals do have interest in a veteran right-hander that has experience playing under new manager Dusty Baker. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and MLB Network, the Nats are one of two teams interested in bringing in Bronson Arroyo:
Sources: #Nationals showing interest in free-agent RHP Bronson Arroyo along with #Reds. Possible reunion for Arroyo in WAS with Dusty Baker.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 25, 2016
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Arroyo, who will be 39 in January, has not pitched in a Major League game since June 15, 2014 when he was with the Arizona Diamondbacks. About one month later, he had to undergo Tommy John surgery due to a torn UCL. During last season, Arroyo was dealt from Arizona to Atlanta in June and then dealt to the Dodgers in July. However, he did not make a start in the majors or minors for either club.
Over the course of his 15-year career, Arroyo has a career record of 145-131 with a 4.19 ERA. The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted him in the third round of the 1995 MLB Draft. He was one of the pitchers who was on the 2004 Red Sox when they broke the Curse of the Bambino by winning the club’s first World Series since 1918.
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As I mentioned earlier, Arroyo did play for Dusty Baker when he was manager of the Cincinnati Reds from 2008-2013. Arroyo won 14 or more games in four of those six seasons and pitched 200 or more innings in five out of six years (199 innings in 2011). However, his best season as a Red was in 2006 when he made the National League All-Star team, won 14 games, and had a 3.29 ERA (fourth in the NL).
During his career, Arroyo is a pitcher that has been known to pitch to contact. He has a career strikeout rate of 5.8 K’s per nine innings. While his strikeout numbers aren’t high, his control is good when you consider he has walked 2.4 batters per nine innings in his career.
While the Nationals haven’t gone out and added one of the top starting pitchers on the free agent market this winter, adding a pitcher like Arroyo to a one-year deal would allow the Nats to start Joe Ross at triple-A Syracuse to manage his innings. If Arroyo is healthy, this would be a good move if the Nats were able to sign him.