It's a visit no baseball player wants to make. Unfortunately for right-hander
Kevin Hart, Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama has made an appointment. Hart, acquired from Chicago last July as part of the Gorzelanny-Grabow deal, has a right shoulder labrum tear that could potentially end his 2010 campaign. While Dr. Patrick DeMeo (the Pirates team physician) is suggesting season-ending surgery, Hart will take the trip to Dr. Andrews' office for a second opinion.
After an abysmal spring training, Hart hasn't faired much better pitching for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians. In five games, four starts, he's 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA. He's struggled with his command, walking 11 in comparison to 19 strikeouts.
Poppa Neal Huntington has taken pride in his general managing approach, specifically in his re-construction of the organization's depth. However, that depth has seemingly evaporated. Ross Ohlendorf's slowly healing from back spasms, while Charlie Morton (.374 OPP-AVG) and Daniel McCutchen (.352 OPP-AVG) have been annihilated thus far.
At Indy, there isn't much to choose from. Southpaw Donnie Veal (3.22 ERA) and top prospect Brad Lincoln (18 SO/9 BB) are still progressing. The last option is Bran "Blade" Burres, but can we really expect him to hurl another shutout?
As the case has been for a few years now, there are a handful of untouched pitchers floating along in the sea of free agency. Huntington has said time and time again that he 'won't spend money just to spend money.' But when the month of April ends, and your club still holds the worst ERA in the majors, then will you turn on your word? Here are five starting pitching options for the Bucs, all of whom are both available and capable of coming to the Burgh:
1.
Pedro Martinez - Oh, where is the
Pedroburgh of yesteryear? Pedro has made it very clear that he still wants to pitch - whether that be for a contender or a cellar-squad. With the Phillies last season (nine starts), Martinez was 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA. He's certainly not blowing batters away anymore, but his 7.64 K/9 is still very impressive.
2. Jarrod Washburn - Baseball's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of 2009. Washburn was 8-6 with a 2.64 ERA in 20 appearances for the Mariners. Opponents were hitting a mere .233 off of the southpaw before he was traded to Detroit. While with the Tigers, Jarrod suffered horribly in eight starts (1-3, 7.33 ERA), and sadly ended the year on the DL. He's only 35, and a career 4.10 ERA would be a welcome addition to a staff ERA of 6.71.
3. Braden Looper - Loops spent time with two different teams from the NL Central, Cardinals and Brewers, and was part of a World Series Marlins team in 2003. He was converted into a starter while with St. Louis, throwing a total of 568 2/3 innings since 2007.
4. Noah Lowry - You know the Pirates love their left-handers, so having three in their rotation would be nothing new (think Duke, Maholm and Gorzy). Lowry hasn't been completely healthy since 2007, but posted good career numbers while with San Francisco - 4.03 ERA, 618.1 IP, .259 OPP-AVG, 6.11 K/9.
5. Bartolo Colon - He won 21 games with the LA Angels of Anaheim in 2005, pretty neat.
