Ready or not, Jair Jurrjens is rejoining the Braves’ rotation
June 19, 2012 by admin
Filed under Choosing Lingerie
Jair Jurrjens is on his way back to the majors two months after being demoted to Triple-A, as Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the Braves will call him up to make Friday’s start against the Red Sox.
Brandon Beachy‘s elbow injury opened the door for Jurrjens’ return, but he hasn’t exactly been impressive at Triple-A. Jurrjens has a 5.27 ERA in nine starts there overall, including two outings in which he allowed double-digit runs, and he gave up four runs in 6.2 innings in his most recent appearance.
Jurrjens has been terrible in the minors and majors since the middle of last season, so the Braves are definitely taking a risk by bringing him back this soon and even Fredi Gonzalez seemed less than convinced that he’s ready to thrive again versus big-leaguer hitters, saying:
He’s made some progress. His velocity has been up there. There’s some separation there with his change-up, so we’re going to give him a shot. He’s been an All-Star, he has the experience. Give him an opportunity again. I’m curious when he comes back to see how he pitches.
Atlanta could have left Jurrjens in the minors and given a spot start to Kris Medlen, but the Braves are choosing to leave him in the bullpen instead. They also could have shifted to a four-man rotation, but Tim Hudson‘s ankle problems make that problematic.
