10:50am: The tear is in Arroyo’s rotator cuff, not his labrum, the pitcher himself told reporters (Twitter link via Zuckerman). Arroyo described the tear as “significant” and said that while he’s waiting for further evaluation, “It’s not looking real good.” Via James Wagner of the Washington Post (on Twitter), Arroyo says he will decide whether to rehab the shoulder or retire within the next couple of days.
MARCH 17, 9:15am: The Nationals told reporters this morning, including Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com, that reports of the labrum tear are “premature,” and they’re waiting for an MRI from the D-backs to compare the results to yesterday’s test (links to Zuckerman on Twitter). Zuckerman further notes, though, that Arroyo was seen hugging teammates in the clubhouse and that “everyone seems to sense what the likely result” of the situation is. Said manager Dusty Baker: “We don’t have to make a rash decision on anything. I think we owe him that as a man and as a professional.”
MARCH 16: Right-hander Bronson Arroyo, who is in camp with the Nationals on a minor league contract and has been vying for the fifth spot in their rotation, has an “80 percent tear” of the labrum in his right shoulder, tweets MLB Network’s Peter Gammons. Earlier today, it was reported that Arroyo would be scratched from his upcoming start due to shoulder soreness, but the severity of the injury will end Arroyo’s comeback attempt with the Nationals, Gammons notes.
Arroyo chose a minor league deal with the Nats (and his former skipper Dusty Baker) this winter over a return to Cincinnati on a minor league pact. The veteran innings eater had been hoping to make it back to the Majors for the first time since 2014 after missing the 2015 campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Arroyo had long been known for his durability prior to signing a two-year pact with the D-backs spanning those 2014-15 seasons, but he underwent Tommy John after tearing his UCL three months into his first season with Arizona. He didn’t pitch in 2015, though his salary was included in a couple of trades to help balance out the financial element of said deals.
Arroyo could certainly look to rehab from the injury, but the possibility also has to be raised that this latest setback could bring to an end what has been a long and fruitful career in the big leagues. Earlier this spring, the 39-year-old told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that he hoped to pitch beyond the 2016 campaign, but he also added, “If I don’t make it out of this camp and this arm just won’t go, I’m completely satisfied with what I’ve done in the game.”
From the team’s vantage point, the loss of Arroyo means that right-handers Joe Ross and Tanner Roark are likely to fill out the rotation behind Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez. Top prospect Lucas Giolito figures to challenge for a rotation spot of his own at some point over the course of the season as well.
Injuries suck.
Ahhh, that’s terrible… One of my favorite players of all time. Miss his awesome hair
Possible Redsox all-star in 2016?
Dudes career might be over, how about you show some gosh dang respect…
I think he could fill in nicely in the Red Sox rotation
He’d be a solid number 2 behind price
Children, all of you.
If Arroyo’s playing career is now over I hope he finds a new job with the Reds, perhaps as some sort of instructor. His career might be ended by injuries, but it’d be nice to see him teach other pitchers what kept him healthy for so amazingly long.
He would likely be a great pitching coach. Or some other coaching role with the Reds, but yeah I hope he comes back in some capacity. Great guy to have around, though I’ll miss the ridiculous leg kick.
Dusty Baker will still leave him out there after 110 pitches.
Arroyo was the LEAST of Dusty Bakers victims. Mark Prior might still have ptsd
Welllllll, Arroyo probably gave Dusty as many innings as any pitcher in his whole managerial career…. Arroyo only started dealing with injuries after they parted.
Arroyo was unusually durable..he’s in his late 30s now. To call him a Baker victim is just trying to troll baker
At least this opens the door for Roark to stick in the rotation
Good luck Bronson, total class act still shaking my head that the Red Sox traded you for Willy Mo Pena
Was just going to mention that god forsaken trade! Nearly brought a tear to my eye. Bronson was and still is one of my favorite pitchers in the game, Still have his CD “Covering the Bases” somewhere in my car.
That’s tough for Arroyo. His career is probably over now. Even if he tries to come back, I don’t think many teams would want a pitcher who is 40 coming back from a torn labrum. Great career for Bronson!!
Damn, that’s like getting in a car crash, stepping out, and immediately being hit by a bus.
Feel bad for the guy since he really wanted to keep playing. One of my favorite pitchers to watch throw but this should pretty much be the end of the line.
24.8 career fWar and $95MM banked. Thats a good career to be proud of.
It figures that a pitcher as old-school as Arroyo succumbs to the torn rotator cuff. The torn rotator cuff was the late 80s version of the UCL tear in that it was the injury that scared people most about pitchers. I hope Arroyo can come back from it, but it isn’t very likely.
Wait, don’t you mean BRANDON Arroyo?