Pittsburgh Pirates shut down Wandy Rodriguez for rest of season
By Matt Shetler
When you are competing for a division title in the middle of September, there’s not a whole lot of bad news to go around.
Unless you are Wandy Rodriguez and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
According to the Tribune Review’s Travis Sawchik, the Pirates have announced that they have shut down Rodriguez for the rest of the season.
#pirates announce they have shut down Wandy Rodriguez for the remainder of the season. Hurdle not sure if he's a candidate for surgery
— Travis Sawchik (@Travis_Sawchik) September 14, 2013
May 31, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez (51) delivers a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Rodriguez was placed on the 15-day disabled list June 6 with tightness in his forearm and was transferred to the 60-day DL in August, where he was eligible to return at any time.
All signs pointed to Rodriguez being able to help the Pirates down the stretch, especially after having a bullpen session last week in which he experienced no pain.
He also made a rehab start for Triple-A Indianapolis and threw 67 pitches in a simulated game on Thursday.
The Pirates were to decide today whether or not to activate Rodriguez from the disabled list, but the southpaw has still been experiencing pain in his elbow, so the decision was made to shut him down.
Since Rodriguez can’t return, rookie Gerrit Cole is almost certain to make the playoff rotation. The only other option would be Jeff Locke, but Locke has been unreliable during the second half of the season.
A decision on whether or not Rodriguez will head for surgery has not been made, but one thing is known at this time and that’s if the Pirates are to win the National League Central, they will have to do it without any help from Rodriguez.