Arroyo to the Yanks? Probably Not As Close As FanHouse Made It Seem

Yesterday, I wrote about how the Yankees were close to acquiring Bronson Arroyo from the Reds after reading a AOL FanHouse report describing such. Not so much. Via MLBTradeRumors:

9:14pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Yankees said a deal was "not realistic at this point," implying that Arroyo was making too much money for their liking.

6:17pm: Peter Abraham of The Journal News tweets the Yankees have shot the rumor down.

I could be OK with that deal not happening. I didn't have the chance to check out Arroyo's stats before writing the post yesterday and they're not good. And he's owed $4 million the rest of this season, $11 million in 2010 and 2011 (with a $2 million buyout for 2011). The Reds would have to pick up a lot of that tab to make it palatable for the Yankees.

The worst part? Since he threw a league- and career-high 240.2 innings in 2006, he's gotten worse every year. His ERA and WHIP have gone up every year, and his SO/BB has gone down every year. This may be the problem with just increasing innings pitched without regard for the pitcher (and a lesson for those who want to blow through the innings limit for Joba). Arroyo went from 170.2 IP (between the majors and minors) in 2003 to 191.1 IP (between regular season and playoffs) in 2004 to 206.1 in 2005 to a ridiculous 240.2 in 2006 (in his first year in Cincy).

Side Note: There are only two pitchers who have thrown 240+ IP since Arroyo in 2006. Those guys are CC Sabathia (twice) and Roy Halladay. And Sabathia's strikeout rate is down this year. Just throwing a little caution out there.

This year his ERA is 5.21 in the lesser league with an NL-leading 72 earned runs allowed so far this season. He's been the definition of durability since 2004, appearing in at least 34 games every year (including leading the NL in games started twice), and durability is something the Yankees need from a starter acquisition. But Arroyo has not been good and there's not a lot of reason to think that he'll excel in a better league, in a better division and in a park that has a jet stream going out to right field. This may be one instance where the Yankees should pass.