Sunday's loss may be 'checkmate' on Bronson Arroyo's career
C. Trent Rosecrans
Bronson Arroyo was aware as he walked back to the Reds’ dugout following a popup to Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes to end the third inning of Sunday’s 8-7 loss to the Dodgers that he may have just finished the last game of his career.
The 40-year-old came back from elbow and shoulder injuries to not only make the Reds’ roster this season but to make 14 starts in the first two-and-a-half months of the season.
What could end up being his final one was the shortest of the bunch, allowing five runs in three innings.
“You have to put up enough quality starts for a ballclub to want to keep you around, you know?” Arroyo said afterward. “That could have been the last time I was on the field, yeah. It's just the way it is.”
During spring training, Arroyo said just making it back to the big leagues would be a success story. He not only did that but won three games. After the first win, against the Orioles on April 18, he handed out T-shirts to teammates with a picture of him pitching in a graveyard with the words, “Return of the Living Dead.”
Clubhouse attendants at Great American Ball Park wore that shirt on Sunday. The shirt had tombstones with the names and numbers of so many of Arroyo’s former teammates that he’d outlived, such as Aaron Harang, Pedro Martinez, Kevin Millar and many, many others.
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After 14 games and a major-league-high 23 home runs allowed, including a two-run homer by Logan Forsythe in the third inning, Arroyo’s tombstone could be getting carved.
Arroyo said he was going to talk to manager Bryan Price when he finished talking to the media after Sunday’s loss. Price said he’d wait until he talked with Arroyo before making any decisions about his future.
With Homer Bailey scheduled for a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville on Monday and an off day on Thursday, Arroyo’s next scheduled start would be Saturday in Washington. If all goes as planned, Bailey would be able to make that start.
“I think he's not just challenged from stuff, he also has some physical challenges that we will address and as things settle in, I'll let you guys in,” Price told the assembled writers following Sunday’s game. “I want to keep it in the dark. I'm sure we'll have a conversation, later on, today or tomorrow, and just talk about where he's at and how he's feeling. If he's having physical issues, I wouldn't put him back out there.”
Arroyo didn’t keep anyone in the dark, acknowledging that his right shoulder, which he had surgically repaired in 2014, has been bothering him for weeks. He’d been able to manage pain with cortisone shots, but the last one he had didn’t work as well. Recently, he’s even had pain during his bullpen sessions.
“I think my arm is probably going to be checkmate,” Arroyo said.
That pain has meant a drop in velocity, as well as difficulties commanding his pitches.
“It’s a tough situation trying to perform when you feel like you’re running uphill and into the wind all the time,” Arroyo said. “I was hoping my arm would continue to get better and better as the year has gone on. It’s almost like it’s telling me ‘Hey man, I’m not going to run this race for you anymore.’”
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Arroyo said he didn’t know if he’d consider the disabled list or a bullpen role. It will all depend on his shoulder.
“I’ve been dealing with the same two arm issues for a while,” Arroyo said. “The elbow – Tommy John is like a chain out on a bicycle. It doesn’t matter how bad the chain is, if the rest of the bike is ok, you change out the chain and you continue to move forward.
“But a shoulder is more like your favorite shirt you’ve been wearing for the last 15 years and it’s been washed too many times. So it gets brittle, right? You have some tears in there and there’s really not a whole lot you can do about it. We’ve been doing the best we can with it by masking it with cortisone the entire season, including spring training. Right now, it’s not going to work anymore. I don’t know if we have any more options. We’ll see.”