Editorials

ESPN’s Jim Bowden Predicts Dodgers Will Sign Starter Bronson Arroyo

Bronson ArroyoDodger fans were awoken to the news this morning that the New York Yankees signed right-hander Masahiro Tanaka to a seven-year, $155 million contract, two days prior to the Friday deadline.

The Dodgers were one of the finalists for the 25-year-olds services, but didn’t seem comfortable paying so much for a luxury in their already strong starting rotation. However, there are rumblings the organization would like to sign a veteran pitcher to a short-term deal and Jim Bowden of ESPN/Sirius XM made this prediction:



4. Dodgers will sign Arroyo– While Bronson Arroyo would prefer to pitch on the East Coast, he also wants to win a World Series. The Dodgers will give him that opportunity.  Arroyo is extremely reliable, having averaged more than 200 innings per season since 2005. His biggest problem is giving up homers, but that weakness would be mitigated in spacious Dodger Stadium. A two-year deal with L.A. makes all kinds of sense for player and team.

While the Tanaka bidding froze the entire pitchers market, Bronson Arroyo along with Ervin Santana, Ubaldo Jimenez and Matt Garza should find new homes relatively quickly. In regards to Arroyo, the 36-year-old right-hander is said to be looking for a three-year deal, but the Dodgers might be more inclined to give him two-years.

Arroyo has been a fairly average pitcher the past handful of seasons, with an average of 13 wins, but has pitched at least 200 innings every year but two since 2004. Diving into more stats and you’ll find that Arroyo had a low SO/9 rate of 5.5 an ERA+ of 101  and a WAR of 2.5 last season.

Yes, pitching in Dodger Stadium would be fairly different than at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, but Arroyo seems nothing more than an average pitcher on the decline. In seven career starts at Chavez Ravine, the 36-year-old is 2-4 with a 4.85 ERA in 42.2 career innings.

If the 2014 season were to start right now, Josh Beckett would be the fifth starter, but a better option might be letting Zach Lee compete for the job in Spring Training rather than bringing in another aging veteran.

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Ross Gasmer

Ross Gasmer is a Social Media Producer for @TheHerd and was a contributing writer and editor for Dodger Nation. Follow him on Twitter @Ross_Gasmer12

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