Roto Riteup: May 6, 2013

A glimpse inside the author’s mind while penning the Roto Riteup: “it’s hot and I hate everything.”

On today’s agenda:
1. Goodnight, sweet prince: The Roy Halladay story
2. The Nats outfield is healing
3. Erik Bedard shifts to bullpen
4. Michael Bourn is rehabbing

Goodnight, sweet prince: The Roy Halladay story
After rewarding owners with three straight quality starts, Halladay has absolutely imploded this week. Doc was ripped to shreds by the Indians on Tuesday to the tune of three homers and eight earned runs in less than four innings on the hill. Yesterday, Doc was slaughtered by the feeble and Giancarlo-less Marlins, allowing nine earned in less than three innings of work.

It should be noted that Halladay is claiming that shoulder discomfort of some kind has been bothering him this week, so there is some non-zero possibility that his recent struggles are explainable. While the chance is non-zero, the odds rest comfortably below 50%, which is all you should really care about.

Doc’s ERA for the year now sits just south of 9.00, and in his age-36 season, we may be seeing the last of Roy Halladay. If he does hit the DL as expected, I’d refrain from releasing him, but at this point he’s not worth an active roster spot.

The Nats outfield is healing
Jayson Werth hasn’t been able to take the field for the Washington Nationals since last Thursday due to a hamstring ailment, but the outfielder expects to rejoin the starting lineup tomorrow. Werth has had a minor resurgence early in 2013, flashing the power that was missing from his game for the entirety of 2012. Werth’s average isn’t great, but it still feels like Werth could be a .270/15/15 guy this year, and that’s a player I want on my team.

Denard Span was back in the Nationals lineup yesterday after missing a game due to a unfortunately angled foul ball. While he didn’t miss long, it’s also good to see a speedy recovery from a potentially devastating injury.

Erik Bedard shifts to bullpen
When you can’t crack the rotation of the lowly Houston Astros, there’s a good sign your life isn’t going as hoped. After struggling with walks and bombs, Bedard is being sent to the Astros’ bullpen. Bedard’s two relief appearances this year are the first time he’s come out of the bullpen since 2004, and even though he won’t be kicking off games, he should still be able to work plenty of innings for a team with other rotation question marks.

Michael Bourn is rehabbing
Bourn is set to start his rehab assignment tonight, and the speedster should be back with the Indians in a couple of days time.