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The Pirates will meet with Bronson Arroyo's agent this week, Buster Olney reports. Meanwhile, Rob Biertempfel writes that Arroyo is "very interested" in returning to the Pirates.
I understand why the Pirates might be interested -- Arroyo has thrown at least 199 innings in every season since 2005, and the Bucs don't know who's going to fill out their rotation if A.J. Burnett doesn't return and Wandy Rodriguez isn't healthy. Unfortunately, Arroyo is likely going to require at least a two-year deal in this market, and I don't love the idea of committing to the age-37 and age-38 seasons of a guy whose upside during that time is, "He'll be decent." Arroyo could also get $10 million a year or more, and if the cost is, say, two years and $20 million (which I think is probably on the low end at this point), one would think that offering Burnett one year and $14 million would have made much more sense. There's also the fact that Arroyo can't rip toilet paper with his fastball, and you never know how long a finesse righty like him can get away with that.
And not that this is Neal Huntington's fault, but it would have been great if the Pirates just hadn't given Arroyo away in the first place. (The Pirates designated him for assignment in 2003 to clear space for Jeff Suppan, who was basically the same innings-eater Arroyo eventually became, but more expensive.) Then the Pirates could have gotten these decent, No. 3 starter-type seasons for close to nothing, instead paying through the nose for them.
