Pedro Martinez To Start Wednesday; Jamie Moyer To The Pen

All things considered, I guess this really is not much of a surprise. With the announcement last week that J.A. Happ would remain in the starting rotation, it was only a matter of time before the Phillies officially announced that Martinez would be in the starting rotation and Old Man Jamie Moyer would move to The Pen. And that is exactly what happened. From ESPN.com

The Philadelphia Phillies announced that Martinez will make his first start of the season on Wednesday at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs. Manager Charlie Manuel informed Moyer on Monday that he will move to the bullpen.

Martinez, 37, last pitched for the New York Mets in 2008, going 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA in 20 starts before injuries put him on the shelf. The Phillies signed him on July 15 and immediately put him on the disabled list with a shoulder strain.

In three rehabilitation starts in the minor leagues, Martinez went 1-1 with a 5.11 ERA.

"Based on our reports on how Pedro has pitched in his rehab starts, we felt it was time to move him into our rotation," Manuel said. "Jamie was a total professional and team player when we let him know of the decision to move him to the bullpen. He has been and will continue to be a very important part of this team."

In addition, Rodrigo Lopez has now been optioned back to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (I seriously doubt that there is any minor league affiliate period that has a team name than the Iron Pigs). And while I am certainly open to giving Martinez this chance, I am a little worried about Moyer in The Pen just because this is not really his style. Moyer is the type that typically struggles early and gets into a groove later (although he did the opposite yesterday), and that style may not play out so great in a bullpen. Alas, we'll just have to wait and see.