Pittsburgh Pirates Announce Starting Rotation, Erik Bedard to Start Opening Day
With starting pitcher A.J. Burnett slated to miss approximately the first month of the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates needed to find a different Opening Day starter than the one they’d planned on sending out.
Read: Burnett progressing well in his recovery, almost “Time to go.”
Without one true ace on the staff, the Pirates didn’t have an overly obvious decision. Today, the club announced lefty Erik Bedard would get the Opening Day start against the Philadelphia Phillies.
I personally felt Bedard should have been the Opening Day starter from the beginning, as I believe he’ll prove the team’s best starter this season. Besides, it would guarantee he starts at least one game this season. With an arm as ridiculously fragile as Bedard’s maybe that shouldn’t be overlooked.
The rest of the rotation is as follows:
2) Jeff Karstens, RHP
3) James McDonald, RHP
4) Kevin Correia, RHP
Righty Charlie Morton is still recovering from offseason hip surgery, though he has been pitching for the team during Spring Training. He will make his third start on Friday after pitching three innings in his last start.
The Pirates don’t need a fifth starter until April 15 due to some early season off days. I think Morton should be good to go by then, and Burnett will likely only be a week or two away from returning.
If and when the Pirates come across a fully healthy staff, it will be interesting to see who gets bumped out of the rotation and presumably into the bullpen.
The Pirates noted Correia’s success on the road last year as their reasoning for placing him fourth in the rotation, meaning he’ll be on the mound when the team opens its three-series, 13 game roadtrip against the Los Angeles Dodgers. My guess is he’ll be the odd-man-out when the Pirates have six starters healthy.
Follow Troy on Twitter @TroyPfaff
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