Will Bronson Arroyo be ready by Opening Day?

Diamondbacks RHP Bronson Arroyo might be ready by Opening Day Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Bronson Arroyo should be ready by Opening Day 2015 according to a report by Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Cafardo spoke to Arroyo’s agent Terry Bross and he told him that the 37 year old veteran is recovering well after successfully undergoing Tommy John Surgery last July.

This is what Cafardo wrote in his Sunday Baseball Notes Column:

"“Agent Terry Bross says that Arroyo is recovering well from Tommy John surgery and should be ready by Opening Day. Arroyo signed a two-year deal last offseason but didn’t pitch well and suffered elbow discomfort. It marked the first time in Arroyo’s long career that he had been injured. Arroyo’s absence certainly contributed to changes being made in the Diamondbacks’ front office, which led to Kevin Towers being fired as GM.”"

After spending the previous eight seasons with the Reds, Arroyo signed a two year deal with the Diamondbacks. The Dbacks were looking to add a top of the line starter last winter, but after failing to land Masahiro Tanaka, Towers settled with Arroyo. He has always been really durable throughout his career.

Prior to last season, he had never spent time on the D.L. From 2005-2013 he pitched at least 199 innings, and in 2006 he logged 240.2 innings. It didn’t work out in the Dbacks favor. He only pitched 86 innings this year, and finished the year with a 7-4 record and a 4.08 era.

After Arroyo underwent surgery, the speculation was that he wasn’t going to pitch at all in 2015, which is why this news is really surprising.

However, Arroyo did say that he wanted to come back despite nearing the end of his career:

"“If this was the last year that I was going to play, I would just go gut it out and pitch and it would hurt and I’d try to find a way to win at 82 miles per hour, but I don’t think it is,” Arroyo said. “I think my body’s a lot younger than my age is. I think I’m probably closer to 32-33 as far as the way I feel in comparison to most guys my age. So I don’t think it’s going to be a problem coming back.”"

Arroyo is signed through the 2015 season. He has a 15 million dollar team option and a 4.5 million dollar buyout in his contract for 2016.

If Arroyo is going to pitch next year, it might close the door for guys like Chase Anderson, and Randall Delgado to pitch in the rotation. We will no more when Spring Training starts in February.