MLB Rumors: Arizona Diamondbacks moving Josh Collmenter to rotation?

When Josh Collmenter made his debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks, he did so as a member of the starting rotation. With this oddly deceptive tomahawk throwing motion (developed, literally, by throwing tomahawks), he was effective in his first number of turns as a starter. From there, however, he struggled and was eventually forced to reinvent himself as a quality relief pitcher.

Now it sounds like struggles of his colleagues so far in 2014 might trigger a move back to the rotation for Collmenter. One might call this an overreaction, as none of the team’s starters have made more than three appearances. Even still, the team’s early struggles in that area have manager Kirk Gibson feeling uneasy and considering a change (quotes from azcentral.com):

"Obviously, things have not been going as we planned. We’re better than this, and we can’t keep going on in this fashion. We’ve had discussions. Nothing is concrete at this time. We’ll continue to talk about it.”"

As for the rationale behind such a decision, the starters who have been hit particularly hard thus far are Trevor Cahill and Randall Delgado. Given Delgado’s youth, it seems particularly hasty to think about pulling him already. That is especially true when you consider that Collmenter got removed from the rotation because he was being battered so badly by opposing lineups in the first place.

The Diamondbacks needed help in the rotation this off-season. That’s why they tried to sign Masahiro Tanaka and that’s why they did sign Bronson Arroyo. Early returns are that they still do not have enough in that department, and it certainly won’t be encouraging if they make this move with Collmenter.