According to the Globe and Mail, Josh Towers is out of the rotation and will be replaced by Victor Zambrano.
You never know, right, but my first thought is that this is madness. Towers hasn't been great, of course, but neither has Ohka.
Towers: 23 IP, 27 H, 17 R (12 ER), 21/4 K/BB, 4.70 ERA, 1.35 WHIp
Ohka: 21.2 IP, 24 H, 17 R (15 ER), 10/8 K/BB, 6.23 ERA, 1.48 WHIp
Zambrano: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 6/4 K/BB, 5.06 ERA, 2.63 WHIp
Not only has Ohka not been any better than Towers, but his peripherals look even shakier going forward.
Then you have Zambrano. Granted, he hasn't pitched much, but he has been terrible. After a couple of good low pressure innings, he has been just awful lately, walking more than 1 batter per inning and giving up lots of hits.
If you're going to demote Towers (and frankly, I think it might be a little early to do so, considering that in his last start he walked 0, struck out 7, and gave up all his runs and hits in one inning -- all runs on HRs), why not try Janssen or Marcum, both of whom have pitched better than Zambrano? Neither Janssen nor Marcum have been great, but Janssen has a 1.35 ERA and .98 WHIp, and Marcum has struck out 14 and walked 5, although in 10 innings.
It is true, though, that both Marcum and Janssen are probably needed in the bullpen, while Zambrano is really not. In that case, maybe McGowan? It is his last option year anyway, and while his control is not really there, it is almost certainly better than Zambrano's.
Poll
What Would You Do With the Back of the Rotation? Feel free to expand on your thoughts in comments!
This poll is closed
-
50%
Towers and Ohka
(1 vote) -
0%
Zambrano in, Towers or Ohka out
(0 votes) -
0%
Marcum in, Towers or Ohka Out
(0 votes) -
50%
Janssen in, Towers or Ohka Out
(1 vote) -
0%
Call up McGowan, Towers or Ohka Out
(0 votes) -
0%
Demote both Towers and Ohka, use 2 of Marcum/Janssen/Zambrano/McGowan
(0 votes)