Bronson Arroyo agrees to deal with Washington Nationals

It appears the long flirtation between Bronson Arroyo and the Cincinnati Reds is over, as a reunion won't happen after the frisbee-flipping righty agreed to a deal with the Washington Nationals late Tuesday.

The #Nats have agreed to terms with RHP Bronson Arroyo on a Minor League contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training.

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) January 27, 2016

Welp.

That Arroyo agreed to a Minor League deal is important to note, since it indicates that the Reds weren't so enamored with him that they offered him an actual big league deal.  Either that or the incentives to pitch for Washington far exceeded what Cincinnati offered and that made a reunion with former skipper Dusty Baker too good to decline.

It's worth noting that the Reds' interest in Arroyo may not be purely in a vacuum, and the team very well may be on the hunt for a veteran starter akin to Bronson to fill the role they proposed to the now 39 year old.  An innings eater to plow through April starts to keep big league innings and service time off the arms of Robert Stephenson, Cody Reed, Amir Garrett, & Co. still seems like an idea the Reds have sincere interest in, but apparently Arroyo wasn't the right fit at the right time for the storybook reunion to materialize.