Pedro K’s 11 in rehab start, will it be Moyer or Pedro at the end of the rotation when Pedro comes up?

Written by Mike Mariano | 06 August 2009

Pedro did work last night for the Reading Phillies to the tune of six innings, 11 K’s, 3 earned runs, 5 hits, and a walk on 82 total pitches.  Pedro said he wasn’t perfect out there and felt a little weak, but overall he feels good and has some work to do.

He’s not setting the world on fire during his rehab, but he’s pitching well enough and getting into game shape.  So when he returns where does he fit in?  Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, J.A. Happ and Joe Blanton are in the rotation to stay and that’s 4 of the 5 spots. 

The only question mark is Jamie Moyer.  Then the question becomes who’s more valuable in that fifth spot and who’s more valuable in the bullpen.  The problem is, I don’t think either are suited for high-tension bullpen work.  They would both be solid long relievers but that’s not a position for established veteran starters.

I think Ruben will leave Pedro down in the minors for a while longer to see where the rotation moves from here.  An injury could make this a much easier decision for Ruben, but let’s hope we don’t have to go down that road.  Inevitably, I think Pedro will fill the long relief and spot start role and we’ll go from there.