5th Starter

So who becomes the 5th starter now that Sheets is back in the rotation? Obie or G-love? As effectively as Obie has pitched the last couple of weeks in the rotation, my vote would be to send him back to the bullpen. I think he has the ability to adapt better to the bullpen and a long-relief role than Glover can.

I would also be up for a piggyback of Glover and Obermueller every fifth day. This happens a lot down in the minors, where they have two starting pitchers throw on the same day while alternating which player starts the game. The most notable instance of piggybacking right now is in West Virginia with 2004 draft picks Mark Rogers and Josh Wahpephah. One starts the game and the other follows in after a set number of pitches. The next day in the rotation, vice versa.

This rarely, if at all, happens in the majors and I'm not sure why. It would basically be the same as having six starting pitchers now instead of five. With the way the pitching staff has been performing, there just isn't enough work out there to keep everyone in the bullpen fresh. Case in point, Adams had only 13.1 innings pitched all year. Jorge de la Rosa is another pitcher that Nedley does not use too often (16 innings). By using Obie and G-love on a set schedule, this would allow JDLR to slide into the long relief role (vacated by either Wes O or Glover) and be able to pick up a few extra innings.

I highly doubt this will happen, just a thought.