San Francisco Giants: 5 In-House Options to Replace Barry Zito
If one thing is certain, it's that the San Francisco Giants will need good starting pitching throughout the entire 2011 season if they have any hope of repeating as world champions.
Barry Zito, who was the team's fourth starter, has been below average to say the least for the past few years, and he didn't get off to a great start again this season.
In 13 innings, Zito has allowed nine earned runs while only striking out six and has a record of 0-1.
Now that he's on the 15-day disabled list, the Giants desperately need to find a replacement. Here are some in-house options that San Francisco may decide to pursue, depending on how long Zito is out.
No. 5. Four-Man Rotation
1 of 5
Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain have been especially good through the first few weeks of the season, so it's not completely out of the question that the Giants could pursue a four-man rotation.
Madison Bumgarner and Jonathan Sanchez would have to step up and perform like they did at the end of last season if this scenario were to work.
Bumgarner has been shaky thus far and Sanchez is inconsistent, so my guess is the Giants wouldn't want to try this unless things got really bad.
No. 4. Guillermo Mota
2 of 5
Guillermo Mota is not a guy who would come in and throw seven or eight innings, but he has looked great in long relief appearances this season and could make a spot start if he had to.
Mota got the win in Arizona after throwing four solid innings and only giving up one run. He has tons of experience and probably wouldn't be too nervous starting a game or two.
Of course, the Giants would have to go to the bullpen early in those games, but he still could be a viable option if nothing else was working.
No. 3. Henry Sosa
3 of 5
Henry Sosa is one of many prospects that the Giants have bottled up in Fresno.
Besides Mota, there are no other pitchers on the active roster that could fill in for a start in Zito's absence, and since this article is based on in-house options, calling up pitchers from Fresno has to be the best option.
Sosa was invited to spring training this offseason, and he threw 2.1 scoreless innings while he was there. He probably isn't ready to to take on a major league start just yet, but it might be worth the risk to give him a shot.
.png?w=256)
No. 2. Clayton Tanner
4 of 5
Clayton Tanner is only at Double-A Richmond, but he's been to two spring trainings already and has been pretty effective.
Tanner pitched 5.2 innings this offseason and finished with 1.59 ERA. He would be just as good a candidate as anyone else in the farm system, especially since Zito isn't supposed to be sidelined for too long.
No. 1. Ryan Vogelsong
5 of 5
When it comes down to it, Ryan Vogelsong is going to be the most likely candidate to replace Barry Zito for the entirety of his stint on the DL.
The Giants have already purchased Vogelsong's contract from Fresno and he is scheduled to start later this week.
While he may not have the talent to be a full-time starter in the rotation, Vogelsong is a good enough replacement for the short term, and the Giants shouldn't feel the loss of Zito too much.
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
