Detwiler Should Be Finished as Starter

Ross Detwiler was placed on the disabled list over the weekend, and it's one of those deals that raises an eyebrow a bit.

Was the move made because of a true case of "left shoulder inflammation" or was it made to save face for Detwiler while letting him go down to the minors for a "rehab assignment" to figure some things out — most notably how to get back to being a groundball pitcher?

Who knows, but one thing is for certain, whenever Detwiler does return from the 15-day DL, it should be to the Rangers' bullpen, not the starting rotation. Detwiler leads baseball with five losses, and he's yet to record a win. But as we all know, pitchers' win-loss records aren't all that telling. So let's look at more.

The lefty has a 6.95 ERA and has already allowed seven homers — a large number at this point for anyone, much less someone who makes his living by inducing groundouts and not giving up many fly balls.

Detwiler has been solid in just about every outing one time through the opponents' order, and most of the time twice through the order. It's that dreaded third time where he usually falls apart. So why not bring him back as a lefty out of the bullpen? Of course, the Rangers have to find someone to take his place in the rotation, but they're looking at guys like Phil Klein and Ross Ohlendorf right now, and reinforcements are coming soon enough in Derek Holland, Martin Perez and possibly even Matt Harrison.

So there you go, Detwiler's time as a Ranger really isn't in danger, but when it comes to starting games, he should be finished.

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