The tall, gangly Floridian with the crazy curveball never hesitates to speak his mind.  That’s a trait that can get you into trouble early and often.  Yet Arroyo is so endearingly honest that it seems hard for most people to stay angry with him.  Also, pitching well covers a multitude of sins.

Arroyo was picked in the third round of the 1995 draft by the Pirates out of high school.  He worked his way up through the minors, and made his major league debut in 2000.  He didn’t pitch well in his trials in Pittsburgh, then when the Pirates tried to send him to the minors in spring training of 2003 the Red Sox claimed him.  He only pitched six games for the Sox in the regular season of 2003 but three more in the playoffs, but won 10 games for the 2004 World Series winners.  He started a game each of the Division Series and the ALCS, then pitched in relief in the Series.  He won 14 for the Sox in 2005, but was dealt to Cincinnati in spring training of 2006 for Wily Mo Pena.

That turned out to be a very good deal for the Reds, who were flush with outfielders but short on pitching.  Arroyo led the league in starts and innings, won 14 games, was an All-Star and drew a few MVP votes.  The increased workload seemed to catch up with him the next year, as he dipped to 9-15, but he has won 15 games each in the two years since.  Arroyo doesn’t throw very hard, but has that big-bending curveball, and a good changeup.  Arroyo has good control and is durable for someone so slender, putting up 200 innings or more in each of the last five seasons.

There are danger signs.  Arroyo is 32, and will turn 33 before the 2010 season begins.  His strikeout rate dropped seriously this season.  He recovered from a similar drop in 2005, but he is older now.  This is a serious danger, especially for a pitcher to whom the Reds still owe a lot of money.  The Reds must hope that Arroyo can recover his strikeout rate, or find a way to deal him off.  There are rumors that Arroyo is being made available in trade this year, mostly as a cost-saving move.  Who exactly would take on salary now is unknown, but the Reds may trade Arroyo.  This would actually be a good time for that:  he has value, but is at danger of a quick fall-off.  Hopefully the Reds could get more back than just salary relief.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 1:33 pm and is filed under 2009 review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.