The Washington Nationals have agreed to terms on a minor league deal with veteran right-hander Bronson Arroyo, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports on Tuesday evening.
As noted by James Wagner of the Washington Post, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reported earlier in the week that the club had indeed made an offer to the 38-year-old in hopes of bringing him over with a clean slate of health back on his side.
It is said that Arroyo had recently told John Fay of WCPO that he had interest in returning to the Cincinnati Reds, while Robert Murray of BaseballEssential.com reported on Saturday that he had been in Cincinnati on Friday to throw a bullpen session for the club.
In terms of potential landing spots, Peter Gammons of MLB.com reported that the Miami Marlins were one of few teams interested in his services.
Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish reported on Monday that he was expected to make a decision as to where he plays in 2016 within the coming week.
Should Arroyo make the big league club out of Spring Training, it is said that the deal will include a $2 million base as it is an incentive-laden deal. He also has the chance to earn $8 million if he makes it to 32 games started.
Since the initial report, a club announcement regarding the confirmation of the deal has been made.
Arroyo is a former third round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates back in the 1995 amateur draft. The client did not play in 2015 after suffering a right elbow injury which required Tommy John surgery. He did play in 2014 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he pitched with an ERA of 4.08 alongside a record of 7-4 in 86.0 innings pitched. Arroyo allowed 40 runs on 92 hits, 10 of which were home runs in 14 total game played.
As noted by MLBTradeRumors, the interest in Arroyo has drawn lots of attention with four other clubs in on him, which did include his former team, the Cincinnati Reds.
Speaking of which, William Ladson of MLB.com reports that new manager Dusty Baker played a significant role in this signing, as the two are familiar with one another from their days back in Cincinnati where they spent six seasons together.
Arroyo made his MLB debut back on June 12, 2000 with the Pirates after signing on June 1, 1995. Prior to the 2003 season, the Boston Red Sox claimed him off waivers which led to a three season stint before being traded to the Reds ahead of the 2006 season.
Since then, he has been traded twice more. On June 20 of this past year, he was acquired by the Atlanta Braves alongside Touki Toussaint in return for infielder Phil Gosselin.
At the July 30 trade deadline, he was then traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a 13-player, three-team deal which included Cuban phenom Hector Olivera. On November 6, the Dodgers declined his $11 million contract for the 2016 season, making him a free agent which has given him this new opportunity.
As it stands right now, Arroyo will likely serve as a depth option to a stacked starting rotation which consists of guys such as right-handers Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg and left-hander Gio Gonzalez. Right-hander Tanner Roark will likely pitch out of the four spot while right-hander Joe Ross fights against right-hander Yusmeiro Petit for the fifth spot in Spring Training. He could also see time out of the bullpen, however, it would not be the back end as that doesn't fit his style of pitching.