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Washington Nationals right-hander Bronson Arroyo says he has a "significantly torn" right rotator cuff, but he's not ready to call off his comeback attempt at 39 just yet.

Arroyo has not pitched since June 14, 2014 because of Tommy John surgery. He was scratched from his start Wednesday because of a sore shoulder. The 15-year veteran says he is not going to have surgery and will either rehabilitate the injury or retire.

"I feel like it's probably done," he said Thursday. "But we're going to compare my old MRI from '14 to this one and just make sure, because I'm still really strong in a lot of positions, which I wasn't the last time I was hurting.

"We'll see. It might be something we can calm down and maybe try to rehab. It's probably going to be a long shot at this point."

Arroyo, a 2006 All-Star with Cincinnati, signed a minor league deal with the Nationals in January. He was competing for a spot at the back of the rotation but those spots clearly belong to Joe Ross and Tanner Roark.

Arroyo says he has not been fully heathy since the surgery. He had been hoping his shoulder would improve as he built his arm strength. Instead, his last outing on March 10 — when he threw three perfect innings against the Houston — could be the final pitches of his career.

"If it stayed where it was, I could pitch with that," said Arroyo, who has a career record of 145-131 with a 4.19 ERA. "But it got the point in my last outing where it's just significantly, so much pain, that there's just no way to possibly pitch, and there's also no way to turn around and pitch again (in five days)."

For now, he's hoping doctors can find some way to let him keep pitching.

"This has been my life's work," he said. "You kind of have your eye on the prize since you're a 5 or 6-year-old kid. This is what you do. You don't really know anything else. So it's definitely not something that's going to be easy to walk away from if I have to."

Matt Harvey to get the ball for Mets on opening day

The New York Mets are giving the ball to Matt Harvey, who will get another shot at the World Series champions on opening day.

Manager Terry Collins announced the decision Thursday for the April 3 game in Kansas City.

Harvey started Games 1 and 5 against the Royals in the World Series last year. The Mets lost both games in extra innings.

Harvey was the NL starter in the 2013 All-Star Game but missed all of 2014 while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He was 13-8 with a 2.71 ERA and 188 strikeouts in 189.1 innings pitched in 2015, earning the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award. Harvey also went 2-0 with a 3.04 ERA in four postseason starts.

Alfredo Simon returns to Reds on 1-year deal

Right-hander Alfredo Simon has returned to Cincinnati on a 1-year deal, giving the Reds another option for their depleted rotation.

Simon spent three years with the Reds, the first two as a reliever. He moved into the rotation in 2014 and went 15-10. The Reds traded him to Detroit for infielder Eugenio Suarez, and he went 13-12 with a 5.05 ERA for the Tigers in 31 starts.

Injuries have left the Reds with several open spots in the rotation. Homer Bailey isn't expected back until May as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. John Lamb had back surgery and won't be ready for the start of the season. Michael Lorenzen was diagnosed with a sprained ligament in his right elbow and is sidelined indefinitely.