Cincinnati Reds: Who is most likely to have their jersey retired next?

Bronson Arroyo, No. 61

Has there been a more beloved pitcher over the past two decades of Reds baseball than Bronson Arroyo? While one’s standing among the fans is not enough to find your jersey hanging alongside the greatest players in Reds history, Arroyo did a lot on the field as well. Perhaps more than anything, Arroyo was a catalyst to giving the Reds fanbase hope for a return to glory.

After winning a World Series Championship with the Boston Red Sox in 2004, Arroyo was sent to Cincinnati in exchange for Wily Mo Pena during spring training of 2006. Arroyo went on to lead the league in innings pitched (240.2) and went to his first All-Star Game. Arroyo also pitched his first career shutout that season and ended 2006 with a record of 14-11 and a 3.29 ERA.

Arroyo signed a contract extension with the Reds the following spring. The agreement would keep the right-hander in the Queen City through 2010. A model of consistency during those next four years, Arroyo went 56-49 with a 4.17 ERA and averaged 212 innings pitched per season. Arroyo was a workhorse; a player that you knew was going to go out each and every day and give it his all.

Bronson Arroyo was a key piece of the Reds rotation that led Cincinnati to the postseason in 2010,  2012 and 2013. Arroyo left via free agency in 2014, but returned to the Reds for one last hurrah in 2017. After Tommy John surgery and a variety of injures had kept Arroyo off a major league diamond since June of 2014, Arroyo returned to Cincinnati and pitched in 14 games in 2017.