–As per Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com, Kyle Kendrick has been sent down to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Andrew Carpenter will take his spot on the roster.
Kendrick had one of his worst outings of the season Monday against St. Louis, but overall, hasn’t been that bad. His ERA jumped to 4.82 after allowing three home runs in one inning and seven overall. Still, his ERA is a run-and-a-half lower than the $24 million man, Joe Blanton. This seems, on the surface, like a panicky move to make. Kendrick is the epitome of a fifth starter, nothing more. He’s pitching like one and has strung together some good performances and some not-so-good performances. Could this be the start of several more shakeups in the near future?
-According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Phillies had scouts watching A’s pitcher Ben Sheets last night in Oakland. The former Brewer pitched 6 2/3 innings against the Red Sox, holding them to two runs in a loss. His contract is for $10 million this season, meaning he has roughly $4 million remaining.
I would very much welcome a move like this. Sheets is coming off of arm problems that sidelines him for a full year in 2009, but when he’s on he’s one of the best. Putting Sheets in the rotation as the third starter would give the staff a boost. Who knows what Billy Beane is asking for in return, but he’ll seemingly take any high OPS guy in your farm system that likes to take walks. I think Sheets is a great fit here for what he’ll cost both in players and money.
