Minnesota Twins: It should be Mike Pelfrey to the Bullpen, not Trevor May
When the Minnesota Twins broke spring training they had a projected starting rotation of Phil Hughes, Ervin Santana, Ricky Nolasco, Kyle Gibson and Tommy Milone. Milone had beaten out Mike Pelfrey and Trevor May for the fifth and final spot in the rotation. Pelfrey was headed for the bullpen and May was being sent to Triple-A Rochester.
Then, news broke that Santana would be suspended 80 games for PED use. Pelfrey took his spot in the rotation and didn’t look back. Ricky Nolasco then landed on the disabled list after his first start. May was quickly called up to join the Twins rotation.
With Santana coming off his 80 game suspension the Twins needed to make a decision on who Santana would replace in the rotation. That man he is replacing is May.
Twins manager Paul Molitor decided to move the rookie, May to the bullpen. May owns a 3.23 earned run average since the beginning of June. Except for his ugly start against the Brewers, in which he recorded just one out and gave up five earned runs, May has outperformed Pelfrey over the course of the last month.
Pelfrey has not performed well over the course of the last month. He has seen his ERA rise from 2.28 on June 7th to 3.94 on July 5. While, that’s not horrible he’s given up eight earned runs in two of his last eight starts and has failed to pitch past the fourth inning in his last two starts.
Molitor said that May’s move to the bullpen could be a temporary one. If Pelfrey continues to struggle May will likely be replacing him in the rotation.