The Pittsburgh Pirates will be reshuffling their rotation the next two days, as Gerrit Cole is dealing with what Clint Hurdle describes as “shoulder fatigue”. Nate Barnes had more details on Twitter:
#Pirates manager Clint Hurdle says Gerrit Cole will miss his next start, "intention" is to bring up Locke for tomorrow and start Morton Mon.
— Nate Barnes (@NateBarnes_) June 7, 2014
Hurdle said Cole has some "shoulder fatigue" but didn't offer anything past that. Said he is a candidate for the disabled list.
— Nate Barnes (@NateBarnes_) June 7, 2014
Jeff Locke was skipped yesterday, so this is obviously something the team has been planning. Indianapolis also skipped Vance Worley today, although that was to put A.J. Morris in the rotation. Worley is expected to start tomorrow, according to Ryan Palencer.
AJ Morris officially called up to Indy. Will start tonight. Worley pushed back until tomorrow.
— Ryan Palencer (@RyanPalencer) June 7, 2014
It seems the Pirates are playing it safe with Cole right now. Shoulder injuries are the worst injuries for pitchers, so taking caution is the right move.
Locke hasn’t had the best numbers this year with Indianapolis, posting a 4.14 ERA in 50 innings, with a 37:22 K/BB ratio. In his last start, he gave up five runs on ten hits in five innings, with two walks and two strikeouts. The overall results were better in his three previous outings, although he walked 13 in 19 innings during that stretch.