Who will replace Bastardo?
by David Rocksteady 6/30/09
The Phillies announced that left-hander Antonio Bastardo has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left posterior shoulder. Left-hander Sergio Escalona will temporarily take Bastardo's place in the bullpen, but they still need a starter for Thursday. So the question is, who will replace Bastardo in the rotation?
Andy Martino, Phillies beat writer for the Inquirer, said that the most likely choice will likely not be Joe Savery or Kyle Drabeck. Martino says that Phils GM Ruben Amaro does not believe either pitcher is major league ready. Therefore, Bastardo's replacement appears to be coming from AAA.
Kyle Kendrick will probably not be the choice, since his numbers are not great, he did not pitch well in his brief return to Philly, and has not developed his extra pitch yet.
It wouldn't surprise me to see Carlos Carrasco, but he still has not gotten things together in the minors. I just don't see much of an up-side to bringing him up. The only name remaining is Andrew Carpenter. His numbers are very good in AAA and he has been here before, so why not bring him up?
Regardless of who gets the phone call, it is clear that the rotation is not good enough to go anywhere in the postseason and a move must be made. We will see....
Joe Savery (AA)
10-1 3.08 ERA, 84.2 IP, 39 BB, 58 K
Kyle Drabeck (AA)
4-0 2.43 ERA, 33.1 IP, 13 BB, 26 K
Kyle Kendrick (AAA)
4-4, 3.97 ERA, 79.1 IP, 26 BB, 43 K
Andrew Carpenter (AAA)
7-1, 2.75 ERA, 88.1 IP, 26 BB, 61 K
Carlos Carrasco (AAA)
4-7, 4.92 ERA, 88 IP, 25 BB, 84 K
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