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Washington Nationals RHP Bronson Arroyo to rest, rehab shoulder

By The Sports Xchange
Cincinnati Reds right handed pitcher Bronson Arroyo (61). UPI/Archie Carpenter
Cincinnati Reds right handed pitcher Bronson Arroyo (61). UPI/Archie Carpenter | License Photo

The Washington Nationals plan to rest right-hander Bronson Arroyo before beginning rehab on his injured right shoulder, general manager Mike Rizzo announced Saturday.

The 39-year-old Arroyo will avoid any throwing or shoulder work for 10 to 14 days and then will begin a shoulder strengthening program followed by a throwing program.

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Arroyo was told earlier this week his rotator cuff was "significantly torn" and he would either rehab the injury or retire.

"He is a tough guy. He has played in pain before," Rizzo said Saturday from spring training in Viera, Fla. "He is a veteran that knows his body. We are going to rehab him the best way we can and see if he can help the club down the road.

"He knows his own body, but we have an extremely capable medical staff that is going to walk us through this thing and put protocols in place (to the point where) he feels good enough to help the team."

Arroyo underwent Tommy John elbow surgery and had his rotator cuff repaired during the summer of 2014 and was hoping to make a comeback. He has been experiencing pain this spring while trying to make the Washington starting rotation.

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"This has been my life's work, man," Arroyo said Thursday. "You kind of have your eyes on the prize since you were a 5 (or) 6-year-old kid. This is what you do and you don't know anything else. So it's definitely something that's not going to be easy to walk away from if I have to."

Arroyo has a career mark of 145-131 with a 4.19 ERA. He has been a workhorse most of his career and topped 200 innings eight times between 2005 and 2013 and threw 199 innings in the other season.

Arroyo was an All-Star with the Cincinnati Reds in 2006 and he won a career-best 17 games in 2010.

Arroyo pitched three perfect innings in his second outing of the spring on March 10. But he was scratched from his ensuing start because of the shoulder pain and now faces the possible end of his career.

"If it is, it'll be disappointing because I would've loved to be around these guys," Arroyo said. "But we'll see if I'm going to have to shut it down or not."

Arroyo has not pitched in the majors since June 14, 2014.

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"Now that he got that news, I'm sure he'll probably be rejuvenated to work some more," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said Saturday.

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