Prior to today’s 3-1 loss to the Rays, the Pirates placed closer David Bednar on the 15-day injured list due to a left oblique strain. The placement is retroactive to June 20. Left-hander Justin Bruihl was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.
Bednar last pitched on Wednesday, and Pirates GM Ben Cherington said in his weekly radio show (hat tip to Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) said that the right-hander “felt a little something in his left side” following that outing. Bednar and the team took a few days to rest and evaluate the situation, but after Bednar still felt some tightness after a throwing session, an IL trip was deemed necessary.
Cherington described the placement as somewhat preventative, as Bednar’s strain is considered relatively mild and there is hope he might be able to return once his minimum 15 days are up. As Cherington noted, “We need him for the biggest part of the season, as possible….Hopefully, that means it’s a short stay on the IL, rather than it turning into something bigger and it being a longer absence.”
The Bucs dropped to 37-40 after today’s loss, but remain just a couple of games out of a wild card berth in the very crowded NL postseason race. A hot week could easily get Pittsburgh into a playoff position, though the team’s struggling lineup will have to start producing, and naturally losing their closer for at least 15 days won’t help the Pirates’ chances.
Owner Bob Nutting believes his team can stay in contention, and recently said that the Pirates could make some additions at the July 30 trade deadline (and possibly receive some extra payroll space to make those adds). However, given the Bucs’ lack of offense and now this hit to their bullpen, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Pittsburgh explored being deadline sellers if the team can’t get on track, or if other NL clubs start to catch fire and create some real space in the wild card race.
Bednar’s injury could make his trade candidacy a moot point, but even if he did return in 15 days and the Pirates looked to deal some players at the deadline, it isn’t likely that he’d be on the move by July 30. While Bednar’s name has long been linked to trade speculation, the Bucs have shown that they’re eager to properly end their rebuilding period, so it isn’t likely that they would move such an effective closer in short order. It isn’t out of the question that the Pirates could still trade Bednar as his price tag continues to rise during his arbitration years, but that concept will likely be explored more in the offseason than within the next month.
An All-Star the last two seasons, Bednar has a 5.17 ERA over 31 1/3 innings this year due to a very rough start. After posting an 11.45 ERA over his first 13 appearances and 11 innings, Bednar has righted the ship and delivered a 1.77 ERA across his last 21 games and 20 1/3 innings.
With Bednar sidelined, Cherington said it’ll be “all hands on deck” for closing duties. Aroldis Chapman and Colin Holderman are the likeliest candidates to earn saves — Holderman has been the more effective of the two pitchers this season, though Chapman has a long history of past closing experience.
The Pirates could also get some bullpen reinforcements coming in the form of Ryan Borucki, as the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Kevin Gorman writes that Borucki is set to begin a minor league rehab assignment on Tuesday. Borucki hasn’t pitched since April 5 since a case of left triceps inflammation sent him to the 15-day and then the 60-day injured list.
Pirates are going to get some pitching back soon, but they need to make a play for more bullpen depth.
As a White Sox fan, may I present Crochet? Not so much for a starter role, but as a bullpen arm that can give you 2 or 3 innings.
Nobody is looking to acquire Garrett Crochet as a reliever. The dude has a 127 ERA+ and leads the league in strikeouts and K/9 as a starter.
they also need to make a play for a hitter or two
Managing 3 measly hits today, 5 yesterday and 5 on Friday is an embarrassment to the history of this franchise’s past
an article on onsportsreport.com, Cherington said his focus is on improving current player performance and development and not so much on making trades
Despite what Nuttimg said about making trades before the deadline it seems Ben believes that the cut roster is good enough and each player should work harder
that was my take
This is no defense of him but he’s in a bind
This has to be his hope
None of the names being mentioned in trades is going to transform the offense. I’m sure he knows this.
Bringing in a couple big time bats to place around Reynolds, Cruz, Gonzales is the only option and how many salary dump candidates are going to be available from the 4-5 teams NOT in the hunt right now?
And he knows his owner
If being around .500 is all it’s going to take to get the coveted WC berth, then why deal prospects of any magnitude?
he’s in a bind partly of his own making. His failed free agent signings before the current season have contributed significantly to why they are in this dilemma
But apparently Ben believes with hard work, players like Rowdy and Jack will suddenly become power hitters, Taylor won’t strike out in each of his plate appearances and both Hayes and Triolo will return to their 2023 offensive performances
I left out Grandal because with him there’s no changing methods to make him better
Come to think of it, there isn’t for any of the other players mentioned
Firing Haines would be a good start. I tried finding players he’s helped since he’s been here so I closed my eyes and got the answer.
John Perrotto today said that the Bucs have lost 17 games when their starters have pitched at least 6 innings
Now what does that mean?
Either their bullpen faltered or it was their offense that failed
Guess what the answer is ?
If they had won those games their record would be 45-32 and would be in first place
I still find it hard to believe that after his last two seasons as hitting coach combined with the monumental failures of this offense, Haines’ job seems secure
There’s currently 4 players in tonight’s starting lineup who are in hitting slumps.
It’s worth repeating, how can so many players on one team always be in a slump?
The only players who are consistent, Reynolds and Cutch, everyone else not so much
this game is now over , no way the Bucs come back from a 4 run deficit especially with this lineup
And Falter might be a better long reliever once pitchers are activated from the IL
it’s going to be a blowout
Falter was good. Only gave up 1 run. Other 3 were from poor defense and luck.
Will probably need him as starter. I can’t fully believe they are going to let Jones throw over 200 inning. Don’t think he will even get to 200. They told him when he made the roster he wasn’t. So they would need to change their stance. Other teams wouldn’t let him either. Also they lose a year of control if he goes the entire season. Will see what they do but all their past history says he will be shut down. They could do it soon and bring him back later. Or move him to pen.
Falter is talking about being exhausted in today’s newspapers. Uh oh. And we’re not even into July yet
Agree about Shelton and have said it all along that so much of what he does in terms of lineups is dictated from above
But that lineup he put behind Skenes on Sunday was something you wouldn’t have seen in little league
We’ve talked about development for a couple years now. It’s funny that local media has suddenly got on the bus. Guess there is only so much you can write or talk about where the Steelers or Sidney Crosby are concerned.
Agree with something you said earlier, Dream. I don’t get the sense Cherington is not on any kind of hot seat here. And that’s a travesty in that in any walk of life that demands performance, he’d at least be on an improvement plan
TheMan3’s note that Cherington still hopes—prays—for these guys to show some semblance of life at the plate should temper expectations where trades are concerned. He’s not delusional but understands the realities of this situation
No reason to trade anyone when .500 or just below may earn you a WC
Cue Coach Jim Mora
Again, the off season will give us full view of their intentions.
This is for Dream
yes I complain and often because as a life long fan I expect better from this team and have grown tired of waiting for a competitive team to emerge from the bottom of the barrel
Ok, Olivares, Reynolds, and Cruz all had a good game last night, but Hayes who swings at pitches three feet off the plate, Jack who still hasn’t found his power stroke and Tellez who was called out on strikes twice didn’t
These guys make millions of dollars to play baseball, it’s time they earned it and start producing
It’s fine to complain. Fine to even complain at the wrong person. I just let you know it’s the wrong person. Shelton doesn’t get to pick his roster. That’s all Cherington. Every night 2 of Jack Taylor Olivares Joe has to go out and play. Sometimes 3 with rest days. Got a 37 year old and a bad backer. Pirates probably give too many rest days. Most teams do. That’s the new thing. Someone asked Billy Beane what the next Moneyball is going to be and he said it’s player health. Whoever figures out how to keep their players healthy will have a huge advantage until the rest of the league catches up. These teams have taken that to heart. So if you are on the 26 man you are going to play. Shelton has no say who is on the 26 man. You have to play at least 2 or 3 times a week or you won’t be able to hit when called upon. Most guys can’t just roll out of bed and hit.
Not good he’s telling the media that. Get Perez back soon hopefully and give him some rest. May or may not help. Burrows has or is about to start minors rehab. Brubaker already started. Haven’t heard anything on Velasquez. Not that the last 2 could help pirates.
I expect Brubaker to be a serviceable middle innings guy for the Yankees.
doesn’t matter , he still gave up 4 earned runs
Do you ever look at the box score?
then why don’t they give Reynolds a day off since he’s played in every game so far?
wait, didn’t someone say that pitchers don’t get tired?
No mention of the double digit strike out performance by the Pirates hitters in last night’s game
If even half of those were balls hit they could have resulted in base runners and runs caused by errant throw or misplayed fly ball
But not putting the ball in play and striking out 11 times you probably aren’t going to win
but Shelton does decide who’s going to pinch hit or which pitcher will come in from the bullpen
And his coaching staff does or is supposed to help the players with their hitting
Shelton might not be the sole person to blame but there’s plenty to go around including Ben who failed at signing free agents in the offseason
you know what would help them
their perpetual rebuild which might happen again
They have too many missing pieces to make this team competitive
His “decisions” where game strategies are among the worst I have seen from a Pirates manager. And that takes into account guys like Russell and McClendon
He refuses to bunt, even in the extra inning games where bunting a runner up would only mean a sacrifice fly is needed
Hit and run, hitting to opposite fields….there is no effort to put pressure on defenses
His substitutions are often debatable and how many times has he left bats on the bench in favor of an overmatched batter?
What gets me most about him is allowing players to jog to 1st, to be aloof in the field and to be so comfortable with both losing and stagnating individually.
it’s being reported that Martin Perez has joined the team in Cincinnati today and is ready to be activated from IL but mr worthless manager Shelton and his equally incompetent boss want to wait until the weekend to activate him
meaning they will still have a bullpen game this week
I don’t want to read any comments from management that the relievers are being overworked
No idea who said pitchers don’t get tired or if anyone even did. Must have been you who said pitchers don’t get tired thinking Perez should pitch because he just pitched a few days ago and is coming back from injury.
What I said was pitchers do get tired but from the heat and what would it hurt to bring up a pitcher from Indy to pitch 3-4 or 5 innings tomorrow instead of using a bullpen to pitch the game?
And since Ben dictates the lineup and not “ Sheltie”, he must enjoy opposing pitchers ( Hunter Greene) striking out his preferred players
Taylor, Grandal and Triolo should help him reach double digits in ks in tonight’s game
There’s nothing in Indy. Ashcraft isn’t ready. You could use him but why play musical chairs for 1 game. Mlod Ortiz usually works out well.
All they really need is 2 more good right handed bats and 1 good left handed handed bat, 1 or 2 quality starters, 2 good bullpen arms, a hitting coach, a pitching coach and a field manager and they are golden.
Yeah. They can do all of that in an hour, right?
they need to start somewhere, offensively, Tired and soon. Waiting until the deadline to improve the offense will probably be too late to consider getting a wild card spot
You have to admit, this is a pathetic attempt at being a major league baseball team
Granted Reynolds is the real deal, the other starting 8, not so much
Cutch is other legitimate hitter.
Hayes does not impress me with his bat.
I think his extensive was done too soon.
His defense can make up for a weak bat if you are on one of the big market teams that have a surplus of hitters like the Phils, Dodgers, Yankees , etc
He just doesn’t fit in here where we need power at 3B.
You’re right. But for some reason, they made him the cornerstone of the franchise. The guy who jogs to 1st and has a handful of sunflower seeds while there’s a live ball in the outfield. Cornerstone, my arse
I said below that the Pirates have nothing of value to trade for a big time bat
I just don’t think they’ll trade young guys on their roster. But really, there are few guys here who should be untouchable
On the Fan this morning they were asking ( rhetorically) why in such an important game, arguably your best pitcher on the mound, Shelton would sit Cutch and Gonzalez from the starting lineup and instead use your bench players to start
And why bat Hayes in the lead off position?
If Shelton wanted to give a few regulars a day off, Thursday is an off day from baseball activities
Even they see Shelton as being a manager that mismanages his team
In today’s Tribune Review, sports writer, Tim Benz asked the same question that the morning guys on the Fan asked
With Skenes pitching, why did Shelton start 4 players with a batting average of 225 or lower and why was Joe, Cutch and Gonzalez not in the starting lineup?
It’s almost like Shelton doesn’t want to win
He wants to be a good buddy to his team
After all, these guys have been working in the mill. They need a day off, no matter who’s pitching.
Too bad Shelton doesn’t take a day off and allow Don Kelly to be interim manager
Mark Madden has an interesting opinion piece in the Trib about how cheap Nutting is and how he talks a good game about becoming contenders but will probably kick the can down the road to another season
Talking about contending to fill the stadium with gullible fans who actually believe what he says because with him, it’s not really about winning, it’s about money
Benz is moron. Joe is 3 for 40 or whatever. Why should he be in the lineup?
why should Taylor be in the lineup, he’s not much better nor is Olivares
And why give Cutch and Gonzalez the day off when Thursday is already an off day?
Why do you defend Shelton’s horrible style of managing?
Where did I defend Shelton? By all means show me.
you said that Shelton would utilize his players on a game by game basis
I see that as defending him but does it really matter what I think?
Apparently Shelton didn’t get the memo from Cherington
Olivares, Jack and Grandal are in the lineup for tonight’s game
Unless Reynolds and Cutch get on base and in scoring position, they will have another low scoring game but even that’s not a guarantee that someone will drive them in
Jack isn’t much better than Joe and he’s been in the lineup and Grandal is even worse because he can’t hit or throw and he’s in tonight’s lineup
maybe so, Dream, but he was right about this
Nope that’s a Cherington line.
Shelton doesn’t really manage. He is so into analytics that he just does what they tell him. Almost like the Pirates are managed by AI. And that’s good because the rare times he does go with his gut yikes.
That’s what the 1 percent is. The only other option to play cf is Taylor who you would complain about being in the lineup. You should be complaining about Cherington not providing a decent cf? Or development for messing up Jack? No? Shelton has to put someone in cf right? Both his options stink. How’s it his fault? He has to put someone in rf. Both his options stink? If Joe was there you would be running on about 3 for 40. And of course Olivares has a fantastic game and makes you look foolish.
Gorski could play center or right field and is probably a better option than Jack, who needs to go back to Indy and learn how the hit again anyway
And yes I know Gorski isn’t on the roster
BFD, Oliveras had a nice game. Hit consistently and I will admit that I was wrong and you have room to talk. You’ve been talking up Rowdy and saying he’s been doing better
Rowdy has been good of late. The over 400 batting average is real data. That wasn’t me talking him up. Just pointing out how good he has been. A month ago when everyone was saying dfa him and I said I think they should keep him and he should trend up, that was pretty impressive. Like I might have been the only person who didn’t want to dfa him. Give me some props there. They seen the worst of Rowdy and the best of him. Now they have a month to determine what he really is. Will the real Rowdy please stand up. Please stand up.
Again Shelton has no say on Gorski. You take these comments as defending Shelton and they aren’t. People just want to blame Shelton for things out of his control. He has to play Jack Taylor Olivares and Joe because someone has to play 2 outfield spots each game. Has to play a weak hitting catcher because all he has is weak hitting catchers.
when you go dumpster diving like Cherington did to find Jeffries and Santana, you’re going to get your rear ends kicked
I don’t want to see any more comments on how good this pitching staff is including the bullpen
And not to forget how lame this offense is.
They have no shot at the wild card position as long as Haines is the hitting coach and Nutting is too cheap to pay for talent
10 hits. Slump is over.
until they face Hunter Green on Tuesday then they will be in another slump
Until they trade for 2 bats the slump will be on except vs weak pitching.
I’m guessing you are being sarcastic here. The cavalry isn’t coming over the hill
I think Suwinski and Davis will eventually be better hitters, just not in Pirates uniforms
I expect they will get some bats at some point. Might not be this season. Got some interesting upside bats in Florida and the DR.
might not be next year either or at least bats that can make a difference
I don’t expect them to do anything of consequence between now and the deadline
Again, there’s no reason to
But truthfully, I expect more Tellez and Taylor level signings this off season
Tellez and Taylor signings are inexpensive to the overall payroll and is the reason why Ben signs them
I don’t care how well Taylor covers center field, h he is an absolute horrible hitter
59 strikeouts in 153 plate appearances
Thankfully there’s other players who drive in runs and get on base.
How about Bryan Reynolds?
Cruz commits his 12th throwing error, he’s a candidate to learn first base because his throws are too erratic
I agreed, even before Taylor put on his, uh, defensive display of genius last night. But this is the Pirates front office view of “competing”. With guys like this
Peguero at SS and Cruz at 1B solves a great many problems but I don’t expect it ever happens. I mean gee, Cruz would pout and we don’t want that
Cruz not hustling down to first base early in this game even caught the attention of the broadcasters. He behaves sometimes like an elitist
Otherwise great pitching performance by Ortiz, which puts the team in a good position. I wonder if it’s possible to have a 6 man rotation.
Watching Rowdy hitting the ball well including a homer is a good sign as was Delay’s 2 doubles with 2 outs
Joe is out of his slump, Reynolds extends his hit streak and Cutch’s homer to dead center shows he still has power
Hope not to long! Really picking it up lately.
Glad they at least have Chapman to close.
They need to get Carmen back into the bullpen instead of wasting him for one or two innings.
Maybe Nicolas can help out.
They miss Borucki too.
But this is not good.Bednar is one of their top players.
the success of the bullpen will be determined by how poorly Shelton mismanages it
He used Holderman today after he threw 16 pitches in yesterday’s game instead of using a fresh arm like Nichols or Fleming
What? He threw Holderman after 16 pitches yesterday? Like he literally pitched him 2 days in a row? Say it ain’t so. I didn’t watch. Did his arm fall off? Can they reattach it? OMG Noooooooooo this is like really bad.
I that why you wanted JD Davis? He could pitch and be Nutting equivalent of Ohtani.
Dream- You think that that is funny but his arm did fall off like what happened in the Monty Python movie.
He will pitch lefthanded in the future..
you missed my point, Dream, which isn’t surprising
Temperatures on the field in triple digits, use a fresh arm to pitch the 8th inning
It wasn’t like they were suddenly going to hit consecutive homers when it was their turn to bat in the 8th or 9th inning
For someone who thinks they know everything, sometimes you lack common sense
I never ever said I wanted J D Davis, what I said was if Cherington wanted him he was a day late and a dollar short
You have a habit of taking comments out of context
You should have been a politician, they are good at that
Pitchers go 2 games in a row all the time. That heat is nothing. Most of them should have pitched in weather just as hot or hotter and for multiple innings in it. I never had a single pitching teammate complain about the heat. In fact most of them preferred hot weather. You got a man crush on him or something and trying to make lame excuses for him.
No need to mention him then. Cherington didn’t have any interest in him. Yankees got him absolutely nothing. No one missed out on him. Sounded like you were interested in him as no one else here even mentioned his name. Someone else seemed like they thought you wanted him to. They were like jd davis? Why would the pirates want him? My bad. Thought he was another man crush of yours.
I didn’t want Davis. I just looked at the comment section didn’t see anyone else who wanted Davis. My COMMON SENSE told me the Pirates had no interest in Davis. So that left my mind no other choice but to believe you were the only person that missed out on Davis. Can you see how one would think that? Yes? No?
yeah it’s a man crush, like it is with Sheltie, as you so affectionately call him
It was the mustache dude that suggested that they go after Davis
That’s what Cherington calls him.
Chapman isn’t obviously the same pitcher he was when he was the closer for the Reds, and while he still throws in triple digits, he’s wild, walks too many and has an era of 4
Not to be undone, Bednar’s is 5.71
Shelton should give Nichols a chance at being the closer but of course they would need to score enough runs for that to make sense
Nichols is pretty wild himself. Has a lot of walks. In time he could be the closer. Chapman has been very good and not as wild since the Dodges series. Bednar’s ERA is high do to his bad start to the season but has been very solid over the last month or so. Takes a long time for a short reliever to bring a 10+ ERA gown.
Bednar gave up a home run in a recent game so please don’t make it sound like he’s been perfect since the series with the Dodgers
Bednar gave up 2 earned runs over his last 5 appearances, both homers
Never said he was perfect. Just said he has been solid. Every closer will give up some homers. Solo ones are not a big deal if you ha e a 2 run lead. I like Nichols but he is still inexperienced. He could be an excellent closer in time.
I would hope someone—anyone-can work with Nicolas. The kid throws 99-100 on the gun but jeez, as you said he’s often all over the place. He could become a real stopper but why do I have to believe it’ll happen with some other team?
why you ask, Tired? Because this general manager has a history of giving up on pitchers who have potential
TheMan 3: A “relief pitcher” SHOULD be able to pitch consecutive games. I mean really, is Holderman really gassed “after he threw 16 pitches yesterday”.
perhaps in triple digit heat throwing that many pitches wore him down some
It’s always hotter on the field than in the stands
Holderman should be given the closer’s role in my opinion.
Let Chapman be the setup man unless his control gets worse
Holderman was used to close for a couple of games last year when Bednar was unavailable and failed miserably.
He has been excellent pitching the 8 th when the Pirates were winning. But you saw what happened today when they were tied.
Chapman is it now,and maybe Nicolas if he turned the corner like today.
He had an 0.68 era coming into today’s game. Mendoza. I dunno. I think he could close games
We have a group of guys who step into that role. Sheltie will utilize these guys on a situational basis game by game. But we expect Chapman and Holderman to both be a big part of it until Bednar gets back.
Oh and Holderman will now be pitching left handed.
“Sheltie will utilize these guys on a situational basis “
Like how he utilized his lineup?
Pirates will not be buyers. Come on
Who’s closing in Indy? Hitting is a joke for this team. Trades need to be made before they are double digits out!
They have nothing to trade in return for big time sticks. That’s just the reality of it all. Not when there are countless other teams also going for a playoff berth
They either need to take on a salary dump or commit to finally signing a couple big timers this off season
And in Pittsburgh, it’s hard to see that happening
Lots to trade. No problem getting a bat or 2 or 3.
It’s gonna be interesting, Dream. To me, they have to spend either now or in the off season to get to the next level. The rebuild, while technically complete, didn’t quite accomplish what they’d hoped. No reason to not augment their building blocks
I’ve said enough. Time for a cigar
Same here. But I haven’t said enough about what I believe is my real concern. Other teams have better playoff odds. GMs on more of a hot seat. Weaker gms. Cherington could outbid them but should he? Will he want to? How many of your 3 to 10 best arms do you want to lose? I believe he will go after average to even above average players but will stop there. Improve the team but keep the prospects he wants to.
in other words, Cherington will dumpster dive for players that might ( haha) help the team offensively
( Is Josh Van Meter available?)
Cherington’s idea of improving the team for this year was signing Taylor, Grandal, Tellez and our $10 million dollar reliever, Chapman
and trading for a player no one else wanted, Oliveras
3 of them have been busts, one is an overpaid reliever
Yes,but will those bats be any good.
Honeywell has the most with 6
Whatever the Pirates need to do to win, they need to do it. Rebuild has been taking way too long. Pirates need to take advantage of having good young starters and make a push. Season ticket holders and casual Bucco fans deserve a winner.
the entire city and the taxpayers who paid for the construction of PNC Park deserve a winner
We have been waiting 23 years since the opening of the stadium for a winner and another 45 since the last WS Championship
Here’s the solution to the buccos problem. First MORON and Haines underwear need FIRED. And whatever happened to closers pitching more than 1 inning?
MORON has no clue on how to manage game situations. To field such an anemic batting order yesterday was ludicrous. Especially when you had skenes pitching.
You have the big three, the ACE Keller, and the two rookie stalwarts. Nutjob Nutting needs to let cherrington make some moves.
Giving guys off when you have off days coming up is a prime example of MORONS inability to manage. HE HAS GOT TO BE FIRED
Read today’s column from Mark Madden in the Trib online
I don’t know or care about his radio show persona but the guy is easily the best sportswriter in this market, beholden to no owner or team—and that’s quite novel
He simply reinforces everything we’ve been saying here about this team and its owner. He could have thrown their GM in, too
I’m counting on the Pirates adding no one of substance between now and deadline time
The real demonstration will come this off season, when they’ll have the chance to bring in a big name free agent. Or two.
I’ll put my money on them deciding on more Tellez and Taylor-like additions
If they plan on waiting till July 30th to find a couple of hitters then they are already sellers!
Trouble is, they’re in competition with ten other teams who want hitters, and they have nothing to trade in terms of legitimate, mlb-ready players
So that leaves guys like Josh Bell. Guys on teams like the Marlins, A’s, Rockies, etc who are under-performing, big salary guys that GMs want to dump. Some will eat a lot of the salary. Some not
But with almost every team still in it, just what’s available? Not much
20 other teams but who’s counting.
They must make a splash at the trade deadline. They can’t stay pat or the season is lost
Now you have to blame Haines and THE MORON
So Falter is “exhausted,” Marty is showing us what an “A+ signing” he was and by the looks of things, Marco may never return. Skenes, Jones…who knows if they’ll eventually be shut down.
So going into late summer, maybe Keller can pitch on two days rest along with Ortiz? Sheesh