Bartolo Colon was scratched from a scheduled Wednesday start and will remain on the disabled list for the time being because of back stiffness, Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
Colon was 2-7 with a majors-worst 7.78 ERA when the Braves put him on the 10-day DL on June 6 with what they said was a strained oblique in his left side. The 44-year-old pitcher was set to be activated and start Wednesday against the Giants, but Snitker said that plan changed after Colon reported stiffness during a bullpen session Monday.
“He came in (Monday) with a stiff back and tried to throw and it didn’t go very good,” Snitker said, “and then we had just met with him earlier and it’s kind of best, I think, if we hold off on him for a while.”
Asked how long a while might be, Snitker said, “it’s just whenever he’s ready, that’s a while. He had thrown a couple of really good (bullpen sessions), and then yesterday it wasn’t so good and his back was bothering him. It was an issue and we told him we don’t need you to go out there until you’re ready to go.”
Colon, through a Braves official, declined to comment on the situation.
He was placed on the DL one day after he gave up eight runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Phillies, the latest in a string of troubling starts for the former Cy Young Award winner. Colon has a 10.03 ERA and .380 opponents’ average in his past eight starts, allowing 39 earned runs and 63 hits (eight homers) in 35 innings along with nine unearned runs.
Snitker said the back stiffness was unrelated to the previous injury, and that the manager and pitching coach Chuck Hernandez agreed it was best not to bring him back to pitch yet.
“Who knows why or how, but it affected the way he threw on the side enough yesterday that it was a concern,” Snitker said, “and then talking to him today I think it’s best that he get better with that, because it’s something totally different. I don’t know if it’s a sleeping thing; you know how guys come in (with back soreness) sometimes and they slept wrong or it’s the bed or whatever, enough that it affects it.
“I know Chuck had some concerns after the side (session) yesterday. Sitting here an hour ago talking to him, we felt like it was better just to continue to wait until he’s ready to go.”
Since the Braves had planned to temporarily use a six-man rotation upon Colon’s return, scratching him from the start won’t necessitate bringing up anyone else or starting a pitcher on short rest. Instead, rookie left-hander Sean Newcomb will move up from a scheduled Thursday start to Wednesday and be on regular rest, as will lefty Jaime Garcia when he moves up from a planned Friday start to pitch Thursday.
“Everybody else will be right on time, it’s not going to affect anybody,” Snitker said.
