Shortly after calling up Bud Norris, the Astros have summoned Yorman Bazardo to the big league club in an effort to stick it to Nolan Ryan and Round Rock, presumably for Ryan's involvement with the Rangers. (I made that up).
Now Ed Wade on August 1 said Bazardo wouldn't be coming up, because he's out of options, meaning he has to clear waivers to go back to Round Rock. And the Mets are always looking for minor league pitching.
But now that's out the window, meaning that Bazardo is here to stay. Felipe Paulino was sent down to clear room for Bazardo:
Ed Wade:
We were trying to find an opportunity that made sense so that we weren’t making a short-term move that could cost us in the long run by virtue of the fact of us having to ask waivers to outright him to get him back to Triple-A to make room for somebody else. And unfortunately with Brocail’s arm issue at this point in time we don’t foresee Doug back before September. So the long-term slot has opened. And that being the case we’ll get this kid out here and see how he performs with the upper deck in the ballpark and the big league environment. Hopefully we’ll see the same thing we saw over the course of the season in Round Rock.”
So Bazardo is likely here to stay and will even likelier compete for a rotation slot next Spring. In 135 innings at Round Rock, Bazardo was 9-6 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He did relieve in three games, going 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. He should fare well for Houston, getting groundballs at a 1.75:1 ratio.
Oh, and Paulino wasn't happy:
“It was expected. I was up because Oswalt was hurt. Now I have to wait to get a real chance again.”