The subject of trade rumors, Bronson Arroyo doesn’t want to leave Cincinnati.

"If they made a trade for me, I feel like, honestly, if you trade me, you're saying, 'that's it, we're not going to build a winning team here,' because of the four starters that have been here all year, I think all of us have a chance to be here a long time," Arroyo said after picking up his ninth win of the season in a 9-5 Reds victory over the Padres on Wednesday afternoon. "If you trade me out now because of the salary I'm going to make next year, then you're just going ahead and cashing in the money for a losing team."

In his five starts since allowing 10 runs at Toronto, Arroyo is 5-0 with a 3.19 ERA. Wednesday he allowed three runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and no walks and he's the first Reds pitcher since Steve Parris in 2000 to win five consecutive starts.

Again on Wednesday, rumors popped up all over baseball that the Yankees would be interested in Arroyo, who is signed through 2010 with a club option for 2011. He will make $9.5 million next season and $11 million in 2010, with an $11 million option in 2011. The trade deadline is July 31.

After a rough start, Arroyo is now 9-7 with a 5.60 ERA. He's also a durable pitcher, who has recorded at least 200 innings in each of the last three seasons, including the last two for the Reds. He's pitched 119 innings so far this season.

Arroyo said he's seeing the start of something special with the pitchers the Reds have, himself and Aaron Harang as veteran starters, as well as Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto, Daryl Thompson and Homer Bailey, and he wants to be a part of it.

"The last two years I've been here we’ve not had anywhere near the pitching staff we have right now," Arroyo said. "I mean, Volquez and Cueto have been great, obviously Thompson has really surprised some guys when he came up here and Homer’s looking more comfortable and a lot better. I feel like, and I think everyone around here, feels like things are starting to roll here, and I don't think there's a reason to panic and start shipping a bunch of guys out of here. Adam (Dunn), obviously, is the only guy in a predicament where he's going to have to sign a long-term deal or get rid of him. But myself and Harang, we're locked into a deal, if they're willing to stick with us and pay the salary, then I think we’ve got a shot to do some things we haven't done in a while."

Arroyo’s optimistic that he won’t be traded because of owner Bob Castellini.

"When I see Bob Castellini, I feel like it's a guy that wants to win here, I don't think he's ready to go ahead and say he's put in as much as he wants to put in and go ahead and start ripping pieces apart," Arroyo said. "I hope the vibe I get from him is for real. If it's not, then I'll have another surprise coming my way."

Castellini is in his third season as the Reds owner and already fired a general manager this season because "we're just not going to lose anymore."

Arroyo's not talked in depth with Castellini, but he’s seen how the Reds owner is around the players and even the staff, taking time out to encourage the training staff to make sure the players are healthy.

"He's serious about it, I can't see him saying 'that's it, let's go ahead and pack it in and save some money,'" Arroyo said.

With Wednesday’s victory, the Reds are three games under .500, 9.5 games out of first in the National League Central and 8.5 games out of the wild card immediately following the game. The team has won or split each of its last three series, but had late leads blown in each of the three losses since the All-Star break. A Reds starter hasn't earned a loss since July 9 when Johnny Cueto fell to the Cubs in Wrigley Field.

Closer Francisco Cordero, who walked in a run and got a fly out after coming in with the bases loaded in the ninth to earn his 21st save of the season, blew saves in the first game of both the Mets and Padres series, before the Reds won the next two games in each of those series. The Reds also had a lead late in Sunday's loss to the Mets, and had a chance to win all seven games since the break.

Several players, Reds manager Dusty Baker said, pointed that out on the bench. In particular, Dunn -- who had five RBIs on Wednesday, including the team’s first grand slam of the season -- mentioned it to Baker at one point.

"I was like John Lee Hooker sang a song called, 'Don't Look Back,'" Baker said. "Dick Pole said (Dunn) didn't know who he was. So I said, 'yeah, he knows who he is.' Dunn said, 'no, I don't.' But John was right, don't look back, just look forward."