The Pirates just announced a series of roster moves that shake up the bullpen a bit. Tony Watson has been placed on the paternity list and Rob Scahill was recalled to replace him. Arquimedes Caminero was placed on the 15-day DL with a left quadriceps strain, and Kyle Lobstein was called up from Indianapolis.
The Watson move is obviously only a short-term deal, and I’m guessing that Scahill goes back down when Watson returns, since the Pirates grouped the moves in that order. Also, Lobstein gives them a second left-hander once again.
I think the biggest move here is Caminero going to the disabled list. His control has been horrible this year, and his strikeouts have been down. He’s had control problems in the past, but his 6.75 BB/9 this year is worse than any stage in his MLB career, and any stage in his minor league career. On the same note, he’s never had a strikeout rate this low. So it seems that something is up, going well beyond any normal struggles. You hope that the injury is the source of a problem, and not just an excuse to get him out of the bullpen. Either way, they’ll likely spend some time trying to get him right in Bradenton, with the hope that the 2015 version returns for the second half of the season.
I could see Lobstein being up for a few weeks until the Pirates bring up a starter from Indianapolis. At that point, my guess is that Jeff Locke would move to the bullpen, and Lobstein would go back down.
Also today, Altoona promoted Jhondaniel Medina to Indianapolis, according to Cory Giger. The Indianapolis bullpen just lost three guys in two days, so they needed a bit of help. Lobstein was supposed to be the starter tonight for Indianapolis. Kelvin Marte will take his spot in the rotation tonight. That should be an interesting game, since Indianapolis has lost three relievers in the last two days, plus Wilfredo Boscan last week. Even if Medina arrives today, they’ve got a reliever with 17 innings making a start, and a short bullpen. So tonight’s outing should be interesting, especially if you enjoy the possibility of a position player pitching.
