Nationals' Bronson Arroyo: Could be ready for rehab assignment by July

Arroyo (shoulder) hopes to begin a minor-league rehab assignment in July, MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports.

The 39-year-old Arroyo already faced an unlikely road back to the big leagues after missing all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and his odds dipped further when he suffered from partial rotator cuff tears in his throwing shoulder during spring training. After taking four weeks off to strengthen the shoulder, Arroyo opted to keep his career alive by throwing from a three-quarter arm slot, something he's never done before as a professional. His shoulder has apparently checked out well thus far while he experiments with the new delivery, and Arroyo has already thrown five innings across two intrasquad games at the Nationals' extended spring training facility. The Nationals want Arroyo to make five more starts at extended spring training before reevaluating him July 1 and determining if he's ready for a rehab assignment.