Zach Buchanan

zbuchanan@enquirer.com

GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Bronson Arroyo feels normal, and that’s pretty abnormal.

It’s been nearly three years since the 40-year-old has thrown a pitch in the major leagues. He’s spent most of that time fighting to come back from shoulder and elbow surgeries, unable to get his aging body to rebound.

But now he feels healthy, with nothing remarkable to report about his preparation for the regular season. Now, he’s on the verge of pitching in a major-league rotation – or in the majors at all – for the first time since 2014.

“I’m literally about to pull off the impossible,” Arroyo said. “That’s the way I see it.”

Facing four-man bench, Reds release Ryan Raburn

The Cincinnati Reds signed Arroyo to a minor-league deal just as spring training began, taking the low-risk bet that he was finally healthy. After an injury to Anthony DeSclafani left the rotation short of experience, they’ll be relying on him more than they could have expected.

No one with the Reds has said for certain that Arroyo will join the rotation, not wanting to count on his health before it’s absolutely proven. The veteran still has two more starts against minor-leaguers to build up his arm, one Tuesday and one the day before Cincinnati opens the season against the Philadelphia Phillies.

But manager Bryan Price is confident Arroyo will complete his comeback.

“I don’t have any doubt at this point in time that he’s going to be pitching in the big leagues with us,” Price said.

To Arroyo, the final two spring outings are a formality. He was convinced his body could handle the load after his most recent start, in which he threw four innings and topped 60 pitches. The Reds, while optimistic, might need a bit more convincing.

As he often does, Arroyo turns to a story about Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder to make his point. The two are friends, and Vedder once invited Arroyo on the stage to play a song on the guitar. It took a few bars from Arroyo until Vedder was convinced enough to look away and start singing.

The Reds have yet to fully look away and let Arroyo play.

“I think I’ve gotten half of that stare off of me,” Arroyo said. “But not the whole thing.”

Get the latest Reds news. Download our app on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Arroyo knows it will take a while to convince the baseball world he can still pitch. The Reds may or may not afford him the starts it would take to prove it.

He’s essentially in the rotation now, but might not be for the long haul. DeSclafani and fellow right-hander Homer Bailey are due back around June. The Reds will fill their rotation with three young pitchers to start the year and have five or six others who are on the verge of the majors as well.

If enough of them click, they’d take priority over the old guy with a low-80s fastball. But they’ll have to take his spot over his 40-year-old body.

“I’m looking to throw 200 innings,” Arroyo said. “Whoever else is in this rotation, they’re going to have to work their ass off to throw more innings than Bronson Arroyo this year. That’s just the way I see it, and I don’t think it’s fiction.”

Arroyo thinks it will take until mid-May to satisfy all the questions about his health, age and capability. It’s not unreasonable to think he’d be in the rotation that long. Bailey and DeSclafani will not yet have returned, and the Reds could hold young pitchers in the minors to gain an extra year of control and avoid Super Two eligibility.

He may wind up crowded out of the rotation picture in Cincinnati in the long run, but there are 29 other teams paying attention if that happens.

“Honestly, I can't tell the difference between my body right now and 2010,” he said. “I just feel good out on the field. I feel like I’ve got enough in me to compete at this level with no problem. I’m getting excited about it.”