As the hunt to shore up the starting rotation continues, veteran free agent Bronson Arroyo has been linked to a number of teams including the Phillies per Drew Silva at Hardball Talk.
Aside from his famous leg kick, Arroyo's trademark is durability. He has never done any DL time and the only season he hasn't reached 200 innings in the past nine was in 2011 when he threw 199. Working in his favor is that he puts up a serviceable line for the most part. He still belongs in a good major league rotation at this stage in his career.
Working against him is some of the deeper stats where last season there was a run difference between his FIP and ERA. While he has found success there lately, his career numbers at Citizens Bank Park are pretty brutal with a career 6.35 ERA when pitching in Philadelphia. He's very much prone to the long ball as well which could very much sway him in favor of the Mets which is a team he has also been linked to.
My verdict? In the same week I hear the Phillies talked trade about David Price, Arroyo is a bit further down the scale. Though my take is he's been a good pitcher for a long time and he'd probably fit in well in the Phillies rotation. Is he my first choice or even top ten? I don't think so but I'd be comfortable with him on my team's staff.
