GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Cincinnati Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani could make his spring training debut next Monday after missing a couple of weeks with a sore elbow.
DeSclafani was scheduled to throw in the bullpen on Friday as a final test before getting into a game. He was picked as the Reds’ opening day starter last year before a strained oblique landed him on the disabled list during spring training. He ended up missing the first two months of the season.
DeSclafani went 9-5 with a 3.28 ERA in 20 starts last season.
Right-hander Bronson Arroyo is scheduled to make his first spring training appearance on Sunday against Milwaukee.
The 40-year-old pitcher is still trying to recover from Tommy John surgery performed more than two years ago.
The Reds have an opening in the rotation. Arroyo is willing to pitch out of the bullpen, if needed. He’s expected to pitch a couple of innings on Sunday.
“We feel if his body can’t handle the workload as a starter, he can help us in the bullpen,” manager Bryan Price said. “His stuff plays in any role. It’s just a durability question.”
Arroyo’s fastball was clocked at 82-85 mph when he threw this week. The velocity doesn’t concern Price, who was Arroyo’s pitching coach with the Reds before the right-hander left after the 2013 season.
“That’s going to go up,” Price said. “I don’t think it has to go up to his last year here which was 87-90. He is one of those guys you’re not going to evaluate based on velocity.”
NOTES: Right-hander Tim Adleman left a game against Oakland in the second inning on Thursday when he was hit on the right shoulder by Jed Lowrie’s line drive. Adleman is competing for a spot in the rotation. “It caught me flush in the shoulder, but kind of the muscle part,” he said. “It’s a little sore but I’ll be fine. I felt good enough to keep going if I had to.” … Catcher Tucker Barnhart is resting a stiff lower back. He is expected to return next week.