Yankees have 'touched base' with Bronson Arroyo

The Rakuten Golden Eagles are expected to announce within the next couple of days whether or not they will post Masahiro Tanaka, but in the meantime, the Yankees are keeping in touch with the free-agent pitchers on the market as they continue to look for a fourth starter.

Bronson Arroyo has been one of the pitchers that the Yankees have talked with, according the ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.

Obviously Tanaka is priority No. 1 for the Yankees on the pitching front, and general manager Brian Cashman has said that the team is willing to use internal options if needed, with both the free-agent and trade markets not particularly strong right now.

If the Yankees truly have any interest in signing Arroyo, who will turn 37 in January, it would be because he is very durable -- Arroyo has made at least 30 starts in each of the past nine seasons.

On the other hand, he spent a lot of time in the AL Easy earlier in his career with the Boston Red Sox, and his track record there wasn't great. Also, his homerun rate would not do him justice in Yankee Stadium.

Arroyo has been drawing a lot of interest this winter from teams like the Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles. Crasnick also sites the Los Angeles Angels and Arizona Diamondbacks as potential fits. His 2013 team, the Cincinnati Reds have also shown interest in re-signing him.

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