Brewers' rotation will look much different in 2013
At the start of the season, the Milwaukee Brewers' rotation consisted of Yovani Gallardo, Zack Greinke, Shaun Marcum, Randy Wolf and Chris Narveson.
At this point, only Gallardo is assured of a spot for 2013. That's how dramatically the pitching picture has changed for the Brewers.
Greinke was traded in late July. Wolf was released in late August. Marcum, who missed two months with an elbow injury, is probably going to be allowed to leave via free agency. Narveson had rotator cuff surgery on May 1 but is expected to be full-go by spring.
But there are four other candidates for the rotation as of now: Marco Estrada, who ended up being a regular due to injuries, and rookies Mike Fiers, Mark Rogers and Wily Peralta. Tyler Thornburg is another in the mix but probably will need more Triple-A seasoning.
"I don't think it will be a free-for-all," manager Ron Roenicke said of the rotation plans for next season. "I think (GM) Doug (Melvin) looks at trying to fit in those five guys and have some depth. He's going to figure on some certain guys that this is probably what we're going to go with.
"Whether he adds to that or we just stick with all the guys we have, with Narvy coming back, there are five guys plus Yo that we (can choose) from. Then, if we add a veteran in there somewhere, then we need three out of the five. Thornburg may be a little farther away, but he may surprise you."
Roenicke said Melvin probably will look around to see whether there's an affordable veteran to add to the staff to make the Brewers one deeper and provide some additional experience.
"Who's out there is important," Roenicke said. "I don't think we're going to sign a guy for five years and $120 million. But if there is a veteran out there that Doug and his crew likes and that we've heard and seen good things about, I'm sure he's going to look at everything."
