Reds notes: Arroyo to perform at celebration of his career

Baseball and music are two of pitcher Bronson Arroyo’s passions, and both will be major parts of the Reds’ celebration of his 16-year career.

The Reds announced Wednesday that Sept. 23 has been designated as “Kickin’ It With Bronson Night.” Arroyo, in the final season of a career that started with the Pittsburgh Pirates and included a World Series championship with the Boston Red Sox, will be honored in pregame ceremonies that will include tribute videos from his former teammates, coaches, friends and celebrities.

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After that day’s 4:10 p.m. game against, appropriately, the Red Sox, Arroyo the guitarist and his band will perform in a 40-minute concert, followed by a fireworks show.

“It is going to be a mini concert,” advised Arroyo, whose final season has been cut short by a shoulder injury. “A real concert is three hours long. Bronson Arroyo ain’t got three hours in him. That’s Bruce Springsteen. That’s Pearl Jam. That’s a real show. I’m going to give them the appetizer. I’m going to give them the shrimp cocktail and then they can watch the fireworks.”

Fans can purchase a $10 field pass add-on to their game ticket to watch the concert from the infield, with all proceeds benefiting the Reds Community Fund. Packages are also available that include a game ticket, meet and greet with Arroyo and field pass for the concert. Tickets and additional details are available at Reds.com/Bronson.

“It’s going to be fun,” Arroyo said. “I can’t contribute on the field right now, but at least I can contribute in some other ways. Internally, we’re thinking about wins and losses all the time, and that drives the machine. At the end of the day, the ammenities here, the food, the overall experience still matters a lot to the fans. It is what keeps them coming back.

“I’m trying to do my part. I’ve been doing some little things. They’ve given me the opportunity to play around the ballpark. With the Red Sox coming in, it will be a nice cap to my career, moving on to the things that I’ll be doing. I’ll be doing a lot more than throwing a baseball in the future.”

Arroyo said he and his band will play all cover songs.

“I’ll just play songs that hopefully people know, stuff that’s turned me on throughout my career,” he said. “Hopefully, people enjoy it.”

Arroyo made his Reds debut in 2006 after being acquired in a trade from the Red Sox and played eight seasons in Cincinnati before returning in 2017.

He ranks sixth on the franchise career strikeout list with 1,157 and is in the top 17 with 279 starts, 108 wins and 1,761 innings.

Arroyo received the Johnny Vander Meer Award as the Reds Most Outstanding Pitcher in 2006, 2009 and 2010 and the Joe Nuxhall Good Guy Award in 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2012. He was a 2006 All-Star and won the Rawlings Gold Glove in 2010.

Mound man: Chances that right-hander Anthony DeSclafani will pitch for the Reds this season are fading.

DeSclafani, whose comeback from elbow problems that have kept him sidelined all season was derailed when he left a start for Single-A Dayton with a forearm inflammation, has worked his way back to throwing from a mound. He threw 20 pitches, all fastballs, from a mound on Tuesday and played catch on Wednesday, mixing in some breaking balls, manager Bryan Price reported Wednesday. He is scheduled to throw off a mound in Pittsburgh on Friday.

The Reds are hoping to get DeSclafani to the point where he can pitch enough in venues such as the Instructional League to prove he can handle the stress of a full-time major-league workload next season, Price said.

“The focus isn’t on getting him back to pitch here in September,” the manager said. “We want him to build up a body of work. We have to have confidence that his elbow can handle the rigors of a full season.”

DeSclafani, 27, led National League rookies with 31 starts while going 9-13 in 2015, his first season with the Reds after being acquired from the Marlins with catcher Chad Wallach for right-hander Mat Latos. A strained left oblique limited him to 20 starts last season.

Winker update: Rookie outfielder Jesse Winker had yet to resume baseball activities six days after going on the 10-day disabled list with a left hip flexor injury.

“He’s feeling better, but he still has a ways to go,” Price said.

Winker was hitting .297 with four home runs and 10 runs batted in over 30 games when he went on the disabled list.

Speaking of outfielders, rookie Phillip Ervin was plugged into the leadoff slot and center field for Wednesday’s game against the Mets. Ervin was making his first career appearances in both spots while Billy Hamilton got the day off.

“He’s played every game except one this month, so this is second day off,” Price said of Hamilton.

Hitting the road: Rookie right-hander Robert Stephenson (2-4, 5.81 ERA) is Cincinnati's scheduled starter in Thursday's 12:35 p.m. finale of the three-game series against New York and the nine-game home stand. Right-hander Jacob deGrom (14-7, 3.39), the Mets' leading winner, is scheduled to start in just his second career start against the Reds. He got the win in an 8-1 New York romp on Sept. 27, 2015, at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds leave after the game for a brief three-game series and road trip in Pittsburgh before returning home for a just-as-brief three-game series and home stand against Milwaukee.

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