Bonderman likely done for season, Porcello to miss next start

July 8, 3:37 PMDetroit Sports ExaminerJeff Sonne

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With Rick Porcello's start being skipped, and the trend likely to continue down the stretch, whom to the Tigers turn to for help in the rotation? (AP Photo)

Jim Leyland has announced the Tigers will be skipping Rick Porcello’s turn in the rotation, giving him at least 15 days off between starts. I’ve been saying all year this would be a probability. The Tigers are going to be very careful with the 20-year-old starter, as they should, and continue to monitor his innings and pitches thrown.
 

Porcello (8-6) is coming off two of his worst starts of the season giving up 11 runs, nine of them earned, in his last 8 1/3 innings, raising his ERA from 3.55 to 4.14 in less than a week. Even though he won’t admit it, he’s likely beginning to tire as he gets closer to the amount of innings he threw all of last season during his only stint in the minors. The time off should give him a big lift to start the second half as he’ll hopefully begin to pitch like the guy who was dominating the American League during the month of May.
 

But even if a dominant Porcello returns after the All-Star break, skipping his starts is likely to become a trend down the stretch, especially in September when his innings are reaching the 150 to 180 range, well over the 125 innings he threw last season in his first year of pro ball.
 

While I agree the Tigers need to be careful with the young man, it’s tough to sit your number three starter when your team is clinging to a 1 ½ game lead in the division. Porcello is the future of the starting staff and could be a top-10 starter in the A.L. as early as next season. With Justin Verlander (9-4) and Edwin Jackson (6-4) each just 26 years old, the three men have the opportunity to give Detroit as good of a three-man combo in a rotation as any team in the league once Porcello reaches the point where the team no longer has to treat him with kid gloves. Unfortunately that point will not be reached this season, which puts some serious strain on the starting pitching these next few months with a possible playoff berth on the line.
 

With the Twins and the surging White Sox right on the heels of Detroit, losing streaks must be avoided. The best way to avoid a losing streak is to get quality starts from the starting pitchers. Detroit can expect a chance to win every time Verlander and Jackson take the mound. With Porcello to be in and out of the rotation from this point on, who is going to step up and give the team the quality starts they are going to require to remain in first place?
 

The easy answer is Armando Galarraga. Gallarraga (5-7) looks as though he’s busted out of his slump that had hindered him for nearly two months. He’s 2-0 in his last three starts giving up seven runs in 19 1/3 innings, striking out 17 to just eight walks. In his last three outings he’s lowered his ERA from 5.65 to 5.03, good news for a team looking for starters other than Verlander and Jackson to hold opponents down.
 

Because the Tigers' offense is lacking -- they are batting .258 as a team, 12th in the A.L. -- the pitching staff needs to up their game to make up for the lack of run support. If Galarraga can continue his string of quality starts, it would give the Tigers their reliable third starter, taking pressure of Porcello and allowing the Tigers the ability to rest him a few times during the final months of the season. If Galarraga returns to the form he showed when he went winless in 10 starts, the staff will be in serious trouble to find anyone to take the hill, especially with the news about Jeremy Bonderman.
 

Bonderman has been back on the DL since June 9 rehabbing from his thoracic outlet compression syndrome surgery..….raise your hand if you knew what that was before Bonderman had it done. I didn’t think so. Bonderman has pitched one game this season, really the only start he’s made in a year. And according to his latest remarks, it appears he won’t make another one before 2010.
 

“I’d love to get back before the year is over, but more than anything, I want to be sure I do what’s best for me to be ready for next year,” said Bonderman.
 

“I’ll give myself every opportunity to get back this year, but if not, as long as I’m ready for next year, that’s the main thing.”
 

Now that Bondo is probably done for the season, and with Dontrelle Willis likely done for his career, where do the starts come from down the stretch?
 

After Verlander, Jackson and Galarraga, whom do the Tigers throw out there? Porcello will be the fourth starter, but when the team begins sitting him more and more, who takes the hill? Are the Tigers going to win the division throwing out Luke French every fifth day? Is Zach Miner back in the rotation? Do they begin pitching Verlander and Jackson on short rest the entire last month of the season? C.C. Sabathia did that for Milwaukee last season and had absolutely nothing left once the playoffs began.
 

Add the thin rotation to the fact the team simply isn’t scoring runs on a consistent basis along with a bullpen that has not exactly been shutting down opponents in the late innings and the Tigers have serious questions to answer, a lot more than most teams in first place at the All-Star break would normally have.
 

Most teams in first place usually need to add a piece here or there down the stretch to get them over the top. Another starter for the rotation, a bat to add some pop in the middle of the lineup, a middle or late reliever to give the bullpen some more stability. The Tigers need all of the above……and maybe more.
 

The lineup needs a bat in the middle of the order to consistently drive in runs and take some pressure off Miguel Cabrera. The bullpen needs a late-inning reliever in my opinion. Closer Fernando Rodney had his first 1-2-3 inning in 17 appearances during the 16 inning marathon at Minnesota last weekend. Having another guy for the end of the game definitely couldn’t hurt. And they need another starter, someone who can take the ball every fourth or fifth day down the stretch and consistently give the team a chance to win. It doesn’t need to be a Roy Halladay type, who Toronto has made available, but a consistent starter who can be a two or a three in the rotation to pitch behind Verlander and Jackson.
 

The problem is the Tigers don’t have a whole lot of prospects other teams covet to make these deals happen, and unless Detroit addresses each of these needs they may not have enough to hold off Minnesota and Chicago for the division title.
 

Both Chicago and Minnesota have better lineups from top to bottom, dominant closers to come out in the ninth and shut down a game and better pitching staff’s -- Chicago is second in the A.L with a 3.99 ERA and Minnesota is second in quality starts (46).
 

So where does that leave the Tigers? It could leave them on the outside looking in come October.

For more info:  Check out Detroit Tigers Examiner Randall Castro.