When Arizona Diamondbacks starter Joe Saunders was scratched from his Friday night start against the Chicago Cubs, immediately the thought was that it was because he was traded to the Boston Red Sox for third baseman Kevin Youkilis. However, that rumor was promptly dispelled by the team, as it announced that Saunders was unable to get loose in the bullpen before his start and that it was his left shoulder.
Once the trade rumor was killed, the next question was whether or not Saunders will miss any time or need to go on the disabled list.
Why?
Trevor Bauer of course.
Bauer has been the talk of Diamondbacks fans since spring training. Everyone wants to know when he will get the call to come to the major leagues.
General manager Kevin Towers has said "He's pretty much done all he probably can do at Double-A and Triple-A, and he's been very successful at it." However, the team was not actively looking for a reason to open a spot in the rotation.
If Saunders has to go to the disabled list, Bauer would seem to be the logical choice. Combined between Double-A Mobile and Triple-A Reno, Bauer is 11-1 with a 2.19 ERA. He has struck out 111 batters in 90.1 innings, which leads the minor leagues.
Patrick Corbin already has been called up this year and manager Kirk Gibson is a fan, but with Bauer's performance and hype, it doesn't look like the organization can keep him down any longer if a spot in the rotation opens up.
They could always use Josh Collmenter in the starting role and bring up a guy who can fill the long relief role, but Gibson feels that Collmenter is perfectly suited for the bullpen.
Now, it has not been determined whether Saunders will miss another start, but let's go ahead and start speculating. We are on the cusp of seeing the beginning of the Trevor Bauer era. Bauer may soon be free!
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