Report: Mets “Heavily Involved” with Bronson Arroyo

A report on Saturday claims the Mets are “heavily involved” in talks with Bronson Arroyo and that Sandy Alderson wants to meet face-to-face with the free agent starter.

The story comes from someone named Chris Cotillo, who writes for MLB Daily Dish, part of the SB Nation network. It started with a series of tweets from Cotillo on Friday, when he said the Mets were “in” on Arroyo.

Cotillo says he got his information from “a source with knowledge of the negotiations.” He says the Twins have joined the Mets in getting aggressive on Arroyo.

If this is true, it would be a surprising move for the Mets. Bronson Arroyo will be 37 years old when next season starts and he has said publicly that he wants at least a two-year deal. If the Mets would not go two years for Phil Hughes, as reported earlier this week, why would they go that far for Arroyo, who is 10 years older than Hughes?

Plus, Arroyo is said to want around $12 million per year, while observers think Hughes will probably get around $8 million.

Bronson Arroyo is a fine pitcher, and I had been advocating for years for the Mets to get him. I still have no problem with it. But that much money and that many years for a pitcher in Arroyo’s age bracket just does not make much sense.

Arroyo has thrown 200 or more innings in eight of the past nine seasons (and in the season he missed, he threw 199). Given his age, a breakdown is imminently possible. Because of that, I would set a limit at one year and $10 million. In today’s market, that probably would not get it done, so I would be prepared to let Bronson Arroyo walk. We’ll see what Sandy Alderson thinks.