The Minnesota Twins are interested in free-agent pitcher Bronson Arroyo, and talks are progressing according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies are also in the mix for Arroyo.
The Twins have already acquired two new starting pitchers this offseason in Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes but they’re looking to make more upgrades to a starting rotation that had the lowest strikeout rate relative to the league average in baseball history.
Arroyo, 37, doesn’t offer much in the way of strikeouts. He has just a 15.3 percent career strikeout rate. Only five qualified starting pitchers had a lower strikeout rate than Arroyo in 2013, and his fastball is one of the slowest in the game.
Due to his funky delivery and propensity to alter his arm angle, Arroyo has a rare ability to consistently generate weaker contact. Over the last five years, he’s allowed just a .267 batting average on balls in play, which is about thirty points lower than the major league average.
Other than his disastrous 2011 season where he surrendered 46 home runs, Arroyo has been a solid pitcher, one who prevents runs at an average or better rate . Putting him in the spacious Target Field should help reduce the number of home runs he allows, as Great American Ballpark is not friendly to flyball pitchers.
In summary, Arroyo is a pretty sure bet to throw 200 innings at a level of production right around the major league average. This is valuable to a lot of teams, but for a rebuilding organization such as the Twins, signing a 37 year-old pitcher is a curious move.
