New Deal on Horizon for Reds' Arroyo

Less than one year after a controversial trade sent him from Boston to Cincinnati, former Hernando star Bronson Arroyo said he is close to finalizing a contract extension that would keep him with the Reds for the next four or five seasons.

The 29-year-old pitcher, who went 14-11 with a 3.29 ERA and appeared in his first All-Star game last year, said the new deal would likely keep him in Cincinnati through 2010, with a possible option year for 2011.

The extension could be completed by early next week. Though the terms of the deal have not been finalized, Arroyo said it would net him a big raise.

“I’ll be making more in one year than I’ve made in the last three combined,” said Arroyo, who was participating in a baseball clinic in Brooksville. “They know I’m going to be a free agent in two years, and they know the only way to keep me around is to offer me what I’m worth in the free agent market now. Because if you wait another year, then you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and then you are more apt to stick it out (and become a free agent).”

Arroyo was traded by the Red Sox last March less than three months after going against the advice of his agents and signing a three-year, $11.5 million contract that was considered well below market value.

At the time, Arroyo told reporters he signed the contract because “I love playing here and I want to stay here my whole career.”

Arroyo said he wasn't expecting a contract extension, but that the Reds approached his agent, Terry Bross of Gaylord sports, at the winter meetings and negotiations began.

I talked to Arroyo Saturday afternoon after he participated in a free baseball clinic at Tom Varn Park in Brooksville. He's still disappointed with how things ended in Boston, but he likes the fact that he is a No. 1 starter in Cincinatti, and he says that this new deal is one that will set him for life.

Stay tuned to the St. Pete Times/Hernando Times next week...we'll be running a feature on Arroyo and we'll also try to chat with him about his new deal, whenever it happens to come to fruition.

Here are some links to some Arroyo stories on the web:

Arroyo Bobblehead night!

Boston Globe rips Arroyo's latest rock concert

Story on Arroyo's Trade to the Reds

--DAVID MURPHY, Times Staff Writer