The Pittsburgh Pirates have activated right-handed pitcher A.J. Burnett from the disabled list and have optioned Ryan Reid to make room. Burnett will make the start today in Chicago after missing the last month with a leg injury.
It’s good for the Pirates to have Burnett back in the rotation, as it adds some depth. Jeanmar Gomez has already been bumped from the rotation to the bullpen. I’m sure this will begin the questions of whether Gomez should be in the rotation still and someone else should be removed (Charlie Morton). In fact, I’ve already gotten several of those comments in reaction to yesterday’s outing from Morton.
Morton hasn’t been that bad, so this puts the Pirates in another situation of having to decide between two starting pitchers who are putting up numbers deserving of the rotation. The Morton/Gomez debate is for another time, but I think anyone would agree that having Burnett over either of them is a boost for the rotation.
