SAN FRANCISCO — The Braves will use a six-man starting rotation for the next week, and manager Fredi Gonzalez sounded as if he'll consider using the arrangement at least periodically beyond that.
The Braves had a glut of starters after Mike Minor and Gavin Floyd came off the disabled list. Rookie David Hale was sent to the bullpen, clearing one rotation spot for Minor, but when Floyd was activated there was no obvious candidate to bump from a rotation that continues to lead the majors in ERA.
Second-year left-hander Alex Wood was sent to the bullpen on what appears to be a temporary or part-time basis, although the Braves won’t say exactly.
Wood will make his next start Saturday — his first start since May 4 – and the Braves will have six different pitchers start in a six-game span, even though that means a couple of them will have two more days of rest than usual.
Gonzalez doesn’t like the idea of a six-man rotation — he doesn’t think it works or sits well with pitchers — but the Braves have an unusual situation and want to keep all of their pitchers including Wood stretched out to start. That means Wood isn’t likely to go an extended period without starting. But by using him some in the bullpen, the Braves can more easily monitor his innings and give the bullpen another strong lefty.
Gonzalez said Tuesday that he didn’t have specific plans or wouldn’t discuss them beyond beyond next week and this one turn through a six-man rotation. The Braves might be waiting to see if something develops – perhaps a pitcher has some soreness or otherwise needs to skip a start – before announcing anything more than short-term plans.
But again, Gonzalez sounded Tuesday like he would use a six-man rotation for now on a temporary basis.
“A guy like Gavin, I don’t mind giving him an (extra) day every time out,” Gonzalez said. “ But we’ll see how it affects everybody else…. Let’s just go with (the next week) because we’ve got to plug Woody in there Saturday.
“It could help us, if you’re looking at the really big picture. It may help Woody out later on, it may help Gavin coming back from Tommy John, give him a couple of breathers every time out. I don’t know how it’ll affect the other guys. If you think about it, they’re veteran guys, so I think they can handle it.”
