Right-hander Bronson Arroyo is only two starts into his comeback attempt with the Reds, but the 40-year-old is seemingly giving himself a short leash to produce on the mound, writes Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Following an outing in which he surrendered five runs in six innings yesterday, Arroyo told reporters, “The next two times out, if I don’t see something a little bit crisper and able to keep us in the ballgame a little bit better, maybe you’re at a dead end street. I’m not sure.”Â
A bit more from around the Senior Circuit…
- Rockies right-hander Jon Gray left last night’s contest after aggravating a toe injury that bothered him in Spring Training, and MLB.com’s Thomas Harding writes that Gray will be reevaluated this morning. The problematic toe is on Gray’s plant foot on the mound, and the Rockies want to be careful with the injury so he doesn’t alter his mechanics to compensate for the pain. Gray could miss a start with the injury, though to this point there’s been no talk of him becoming the latest in a long list of Rockies to land on the disabled list.
- The Mets are planning to promote southpaw Sean Gilmartin prior to tonight’s contest in order to add a fresh arm to their bullpen in the wake of last night’s 16-inning marathon game, per Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review Journal (Twitter link). The Mets went through eight pitchers last night, including four relievers who threw two or more innings. As Helfand points out, Gilmartin and right-hander Erik Goeddel are essentially the only two viable options on New York’s 40-man roster, and Goeddel has been slowed of late by a groin injury. The Mets have long been touted for their rotation depth, but multiple injuries and the trade of Gabriel Ynoa to the Orioles has thinned out their upper-level options on the 40-man roster.
- ESPN’s Mark Saxon breaks down each element of the Cardinals’ struggles thus far in the 2017 campaign, noting that the team’s rotation and run production figure to be sound in the long run, but the bullpen and defense look far shakier. As Saxon observes, Alex Reyes’ injury now looks costlier than ever with the underperformance of the bullpen. Matt Adams continues to represent a clumsy fit for the Cardinals’ roster as well, with Saxon suggesting the team seek to trade him in exchange for a true fourth outfielder that can play all three positions. That may prove difficult, of course, as the team wasn’t able to drum up much of a market for Adams this offseason in a crowded market for players with similar skill sets.
mvottop
I’m glad Arroyo said that. I’d have to imagine that takes a lot to admit to yourself at first so I really respect him for that. Hopefully he can stay around the team in some capacity.
cincysports24
Yeah I’d say cody reed needs to step into that rotation spot, and I bet Arroyo would be one hell of a coach of some sort. But his pitching days are numbered.
redsfan48
Or, send Arroyo to the bullpen and Reed to the rotation. Arroyo hasn’t had much trouble in the first 1-2 innings of his starts, his trouble has come later, so it’s entirely possible that he could be an effective middle reliever while still bringing clubhouse leadership
mvottop
I like that idea. Reed definitely needs a chance to be a starter. I like Arroyo in the pen though potentially.
cincysports24
I’d say so, but realistically if you watched yesterday’s game you would see in the first inning alone he was taken to the warning track twice. That in itself seems a bit of a obvious red flag to me.
BrandonGregory74
Bronson got beat like a drum in the third and fourth inning. I think he fits right into the role of a multiple inning reliever. He might even be OK in high-leverage situations.
thegreatcerealfamine
Bronson fits into a role at State Farm!
mrkinsm
Why on earth would any Reds fan want a guy who can hardly hit 85 mph pitching out of the pen. No thanks, Arroyo is done, he needs to retire.
lesterdnightfly
Arroyo would be a perfect complement to Jered Weaver on the Padres. Give the NL West the old Howard Ehmke treatment.
layventsky
After the amount of time he’s missed, who wouldn’t expect some rust in the beginning? I can see where he’s coming from, but he should give himself more time to see if his stuff gets back in order.
chesteraarthur
A true 4th outfielder that can play all 3 positions is going to be more valuable than Matt Adams.
And the last sentence needs a quick edit cleanup, “suggesting the team seek to trade him in exchange for a true fourth outfielder that can true fourth outfielder that can play all three positions.”
Wainofan
Biggest problems in St. Louis is our manager and who he uses and how he uses them. We have two fourth OF on our roster( Pham and Martinez) but he uses Adams out there. Wongs problems are mostly in way matheny sporadically uses him. His defense is plus, and bat is streaky. Over a large sample he’d average out to roughly league average bat with plus defense. No all star but worth his $5 million a year extension. Only mistake extension so far for Dewitt and mozeliak is matheny. Bullpen would be fixed if we cut loose broxton and get siegrist out of high leverage situations. Lyons is healthy and we could give young guys a chance. Tuivailalla, alcantara, etc. Rosie’s back and oh and Cecil’s struggles should level out to their expected performances.
themed
Manager not the problem. Performance is the problem. If someone is not producing then you have to change this up. Get tired of hearing from all you wannabe managers how bad Matheny is. Comical really
EndinStealth
Ummmm if the player is not performing and keeps get run out there then it is the manager. Should I say that slower so it sinks in?
jth986
Who is first to go: Matheny or Mabry?
stl_cards16 2
A very easy trade. Adams to Memphis in exchange for Tommy Pham.
chesteraarthur
isn’t adams out of options?
timyanks
st louis would be better off trading carpenter.
What
Negative Ghost Rider
Polymath
If Matt Adams was traded, who might want him? What is he worth: an injured pitcher (for later), a Class A second baseman, a third round draft pick?
robertj53086
As a Cards fan, I knew in the off season, that they would struggle in the bullpen and on defense. Broxton sucks and Wong’s extension was a mistake on MO’s part.
PaperLions
The mistake was the extension given to Matheny. He has no idea what he’s doing.
themed
Name me a manager with a better win percentage since he took over in 2012. I’ll be waiting for your answer.
timyanks
winning percentage means nothing. championships are what count. if he was a better at game management…
themed
Very good manager. Missed playoffs only one time by one game. Playoffs nothing but a crapshoot.
trouserdawg
Um, no. He’s not a good manager. Past Positive results with flawed decision making = luck
EndinStealth
He missed that playoffs by one game when he should have made it by at least 5.
stl_cards16 2
The bullpen should be a strength and I still expect it to be.
As far as Wong’s extension, meh. It’s not looking like a bargain but I still don’t consider it a mistake. Was well worth the risk.
Vedder80
The bullpen is only a strength if Oh, Siegrist, and Cecil can rediscover their velocity. They are way down on all of their pitches thus far this year.
johnnya
Lmfaoooooo dude I got a bridge to sell you. Cheap like our owner
schellis 2
The Reds are paying him deferred salary from his previous contract with them so no harm in trying. He’s not exactly blocking anyone at this point either if used in the pen.