Brad Mills isn't concerned with who Wandy replaces when he rejoins the rotation Monday.
Mills:
"We'll address that later. I don't think that needs to be taken care of right now."
Some possibilities:
1. He replaces Jordan Lyles. The Astros would then have to burn one of his option years to send him back to OKC.
2. Wandy replaces Aneury Rodriguez, who would then have to be moved into a bullpen role thanks to his Rule 5 status. This is further complicated by the impending return of Brandon Lyon.
Barring some sort of Big Time Move (flat-out releasing someone), I'm guessing Option #2 is the best bet.
But what to do with the bullpen? Right now it's:
Melancon, Del Rosario, Escalona, Fulchino, Lopez, and Fernando Rodriguez.
If Aneury goes to the bullpen, you need two guys back to OKC to make room for Brandon Lyon. Who do you choose? Personally, I'd like to see Brandon Lyon sent off to the Yankees for a bag of peanuts. But I'm guessing this will not be the case. With the Astros currently feeling like they only need one LHP in the bullpen, this would make Escalona expendable. And you could choose one of Fulchino, Lopez, or Del Rosario who flat-out scare you to death whenever they come into a game.
UPDATE: Totally forgot that Valdez had already been sent down for Lyon. So...nevermind.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
