After last night's game Sean West was optioned to Double-A Jacksonville.
After watching the 6-foot-8 West struggle for the third straight start, the Marlins optioned the left-hander to Double-A Jacksonville. "I have to improve on some things," West said. "I agree 100 percent with their decision. There is stuff I have to work on. That's a decision they had to make. "If a big leaguer knows you don't have your secondary pitches working, they're going to sit on a fastball. I've been struggling with that the last two starts. I'll go down to Jacksonville, improve on some things and see what happens. Just off-speed, in general."
West is a talent but he really needs a curve and a change that is dependable and that is what the minors are for: to teach him the pitches. He was rushed up to the majors, but it couldn't be avoided due to injuries, and now it is time to let him get some more seasoning.
The Marlins will announce today who will be taking his spot on the roster.
The Marlins don't need a fifth starter until July 20 and considering the off-days in the latter part of July they won't need a fifth starter again until August 1.
So here is my guess on what they will do:
The initial call-up will be either relief help or bench help. The two names on the 40-man roster that come to mind are either Cristhian Martinez or Brett Hayes. Then whomever gets the call will be optioned to the minors on July 19 and Rick VandenHurk will be called up to make the start on July 20 and he will be sent down immediately after the game and Tim Wood will join the bullpen. This way VandenHurk gets to pitch in Triple-A on July 25 to stay on normal days rest. Then after the game on July 31 Tim Wood will be sent down and VandenHurk will be recalled to hold down the fifth spot in the rotation until Anibal Sanchez is good to go.
Those are my thoughts, yours may vary.