Bronson Arroyo hasn’t heard from the Reds front office, reports Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.
The longtime Reds pitcher knew that his last start of 2013 vs. the Pirates — where he allowed five homers — was possibly his final start with the club. Nothing has changed since the season ended to have Arroyo thinking any differently.
“I’ve heard not a word,” Arroyo said on Friday. “The sense I have, I don’t think they’ll make me a [qualifying] offer. They would have to offer me $13-14 million for me to stay anyway.”
Arroyo has maintained that he’s looking for, at minimum, a two-year contract on the free agent market.
“I haven’t had one conversation with them,” Arroyo said. “They could be taking care of other things or other issues. The sense I get is by not having any conversation with me, is they’re going in a different direction.”
Sheldon also reports that he wouldn’t be surprised to see the Reds attempt to trade right-hander Homer Bailey this offseason.
Bailey, once one of the top prospects in the game, has developed into a solid starter for Cincinnati, posting a 3.58 ERA and 1.182 WHIP in 65 starts spanning 417 innings over the past two seasons.
After earning $5.35 million through his second year of arbitration, Bailey is set for a big raise and he’s unwilling to sign a deal prior to reaching free agency. If this continues, writes Sheldon, Cincinnati could look to trade the right-hander in order to shed payroll and acquire talent to bolster their minor-league system and major-league roster. His 3.34 ERA and 1.14 WHIP this season, are career highs for the 27-year old.
As for Arroyo, nobody expects the Reds to make him a qualifying offer, so if the Mets want him, they’ll just need to pony up the $20-25 million dollars.
