Tom Gorzelanny and Jose Tabata have been optioned to the minors, DK is reporting. Tabata is expected, Gorzelanny, well, not so much. He hasn’t pitched well, but given his talent I always thought he’d get a chance during the season to show that he could bounce back from his ugly year last year. I guess that’s not the case.
This leaves Ian Snell, Paul Maholm, Zach Duke, and Ross Ohlendorf as likely locks for the rotation with a fourth spot still open. I’m not sure who’s filling that spot though: Phil Dumatrait’s going on the disabled list, Jeff Karstens hasn’t really been used like a starter this spring and he’s had some arm trouble, and Jimmy Barthmaier and Dan McCutchen are already in the minor league camp. That leaves, by my count, Virgil Vazquez and any free agent that’s not in camp. The Pirates have shown interest in Pedro Martinez and the Astros strongly denied the reports that he’d signed with them.
Is there something going on behind the scenes that we don’t know about? Or will Karstens and Vazquez fight it out for this last spot? I’m not sure I know the answer, but I am surprised by this news. It’s not that I think it’s a bad thing, either. There’s clearly something wrong with Gorzo, whether it’s health-related or otherwise, and sending him to AAA to figure it out isn’t a terrible idea. I just didn’t think the front office would have the balls to make this move right out of camp.
