Pittsburgh – It was hardly a surprise that the Rockies added a pitcher today after using everyone but Jeremy Affeldt in their bullpen Monday night.
Who the pitcher was raised a few eyebrows.
The Rockies called up Triple-A starter Ubaldo Jimenez, optioning out infielder Omar Quintanilla. Given Taylor Buchholz’s spotty four-inning performance Monday and Jimenez’s work in Triple-A, the question was obvious: Is Buchholz moving back to the bullpen, where he was effective, to make room for Jimenez in the rotation.
In a word, no.
“We wanted to be covered if we needed a long reliever tonight. That’s the only reason we didn’t add a one-inning guy like (Ramon Ramirez or Ryan Speier),” manager Clint Hurdle said before the game.
Jimenez, 8-5 with a 5.85 ERA for the Sky Sox, has made strides in Triple-A, working seven innings in a 95-pitch victory last Friday. Hurdle indicated that the hard-throwing right-hander still needs to be “more consistent across the board” before joining the big-league rotation. Translation: he must improve fastball command and get on a roll in the minor leagues, not alternate good outings with mediocrity. The plan now is that he would fill a temporary gap today and tomorrow until Brian Fuentes’ anticipated return from his rehab stint on Thursday.
Todd Helton was also a late scratch with a headache. He had started 41 consecutive games.
