Cincinnati Reds: Bronson Arroyo Takes the Hill Again
By Tim Haberin
Veteran righty Bronson Arroyo makes his unlikely return to the Cincinnati Reds this afternoon. He hasn’t pitched in a major league game since 2014.
Bronson Arroyo hasn’t pitched in an MLB game in nearly three years, but the 40-year-old right-hander will take the mound for the Cincinnati Reds this afternoon against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Arroyo last started a big league contest on June 15, 2014, while a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He tossed five innings of one-run ball against the Dodgers that day. Unfortunately, he required Tommy John surgery the following month.
Since then, it’s been a cascade of injuries and unsuccessful minor league deals for the 15-year veteran. Arroyo spent stints with the Braves, Dodgers and Nationals organizations but never cracked the major league roster with any of them. He received stem-cell treatments last August to combat his troublesome elbow issues. In February he signed a minors contract with the Reds, the franchise he spent eight seasons with from 2006 to 2013.
Cincinnati brought Arroyo along carefully in Spring Training. He logged 7.2 innings, allowing four runs (4.70 ERA) on seven hits, two of them home runs. He also walked two while striking out six. Most importantly, Arroyo felt good physically, remarking in late March that he was “literally about to pull off the impossible.”
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The Reds selected Arroyo’s contract today, optioning right-hander Barrett Astin to Triple-A Louisville to clear roster space. He will become the elder statesman in a rotation that is, for the most part, very young. Opening Day starter Scott Feldman comes in at age 34, while Brandon Finnegan, Rookie Davis and Amir Garrett are all 23 or 24.
Arroyo is also the seventh player age 40 or over currently active in MLB, joining Bartolo Colon (43), Ichiro Suzuki (43), R.A. Dickey (42), Koji Uehara (42), Jason Grilli (40) and Fernando Rodney (40). Carlos Beltran and Joaquin Benoit enter the club on April 24 and July 26, respectively.
Cincinnati hopes that vast experience will serve Arroyo well in his comeback attempt, but it’s really anyone’s guess how he’ll fare after an extended lay-off from major league action. Never much of a strikeout artist (career 5.8 K/9), Arroyo has thrived in the past on his ability to limit walks (career 2.4 BB/9) through his effective control. He’s also been a workhorse for most of his career; prior to 2014, he threw at least 200 frames in eight of his previous nine seasons.
At the very least, it will be interesting to see Arroyo back on a big league mound again when not so long ago that seemed like a remote possibility. Reds fans will welcome back an old friend who last put on their uniform in 2013. As a team that is very much rebuilding, Cincinnati’s rotation is largely in flux. If Arroyo performs well, he should continue to get opportunities.
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The Reds are off to a somewhat surprising 3-1 start, and they edged the Cardinals 2-0 last night to take the opener of their series. They’ll square off again today at 2:15 PM ET in St. Louis.