The Crew's Current Pitching Situation

With Capuano now out of the picture, it's time to take a closer look at the current Brewers pitching situation. While I guess it's conceivable that some other format can be used, for this exercise let's assume that the Crew will start the year with 12 pitchers, 5 in the rotation and 7 in the pen.

Let's start with the Locks in the Bullpen:
- Gagne
- Turnblow
- David Riske (quietly going about his business, having a solid spring)
- Guillermo Mota (currently owning souls in Arizona, team high 9 appearances)
- Shouse (doing his thing)
- Torres (just getting in the groove)

Locks for the rotation:
- Sheets
- Suppan
- Parra (I'm officially throwing him in. He's been getting a lot of love recently from the national media & even Yost is saying that his recent hiccups haven't cost him much).

The rest is where it gets a little tricky. First a few notes:
-There is only 1 bullpen spot remaining. Question is: do you go with a reliever or do you with one of the leftover starters? The two main relievers battling for this last spot are Seth McClung & Chris Narveson and I consider them both wild cards. Both are having solid springs...especially Narveson (who most people haven't heard of, check out this article).
- Update: The Brewers just announced they will keep McClung, so the bullpen is essentially set.
-There are two starting spots remaining. Claudio is either in the rotation or has to be traded, since he is out of options. Carlos & Dave Bush both have minor league options left...
-Gallardo will be back in the rotation in 1 month, barring a setback.

Let me be clear about two points: I don't know how the hell Carlos hasn't locked up a spot yet, and Claudio Vargas has no long-term impact/presence on this team. He is just a guy. I've emphatically stated that he needs to be traded when his value is still relatively high. The Brewers (even with their current injuries) still have extra arms available. Good teams make trades in situations like this. Pitching is a high commodity all over MLB. Look at the prospects the Brewers gave up just to rent Scott Linebrink last year.

Here's the way I'd like to see them go. Look for a good deal for Vargas and ship him out. Start the season off with Sheets, Suppan, Parra, Carlos, & Bush. When Yo comes back, Bush will either get sent down to Triple A, or get moved to the bullpen if Melvin can get something in return for McClung. At this point, if the Brewer's starters are bitten by the injury bug, we have Bush & Action Jackson ready to go.

I have a conference call with Melvin & Yost at 3pm CT today, I'll let you guys know how it works out.