A Bullpen Battle

I somehow forgot to mention that Adam Russell was called back up to the Padres when Kevin Correia went on the bereavement list a couple of days ago.

With Correia set to return from the bereavement list in time for his next start, there’s an interesting question of which of the three recently recalled relievers–Ryan Webb, Cesar Ramos, and Russell–should be sent down.

All three have sub-3.00 FIPs (1.79 for Russell, 2.74 for Webb, and 2.97 for Ramos), and in their extremely small samples, that’s not much help.

It looks like Russell’s big case for staying is that he’s thrown 4 1/3 hitless innings for San Diego.

Ramos’ biggest case for staying is that he’s a second lefty in the bullpen, which is nice to have in the NL.

Webb’s biggest case for staying is that he’s been far more dominant (0.80 WHIP) in Triple-A than Ramos (1.64 WHIP) or Russell (2.17 WHIP).

Personally, I’d like Russell to stay, because he has unbelievable stuff and showed that he could be a dominant reliever with the Padres earlier this year. I guess I’d take Ramos too, for the left-handedness, and since he can spot start if needed.

Webb wasn’t exactly dominant last season in Triple-A, so he can afford another month or two down there to polish himself up a little bit.

Still, I won’t be heartbroken no matter what happens. There are clear rationales for keeping all three pitchers up, so none of the potential demotions could really be considered a blunder on the part of the front office. It’ll be interesting to see what they value, though.