The Bucs wasted little time announcing that Evan Meek has returned to the 25-man roster. Lefty Daniel Moskos was sent back to Indianapolis to clear his spot. Meek has been on the DL since April 30th and Moskos was his replacement, so the circle was unbroken.
Meek was ready. In four rehab appearances at Indy, he had two holds and a save, allowing one hit and K'ing six in four innings. Yesterday he passed his back-to-back outings test, and he'll be a welcome addition to the back end of the bullpen.
Don't expect him to fall automatically into his customary eighth inning role, though. Clint Hurdle has had success mixing up the set-up men in Meek's absence, and will probably continue to trot out Jose Veras and Joe Beimel, along with Meek, as a bridge to Joel Hanrahan as he sees fit.
While it would be easy to say that Moskos got his ticket to AAA punched because his options are intact, in this case it was a consideration that made some sense. The FO was high on out-of-options Jose Ascanio and just bought a little more time to evaluate him, though he hasn't been all that sharp in rehab or the show.
Hurdle was said to like two lefties out of the pen, but the skipper called on Moskos sparingly. He did well in his spots, appearing five times in three weeks and tossing 4-2/3 innings, giving up no runs, two hits and three walks along with a K. Moskos got a taste of success in the bigs. Now building on that performance with some regular work at Indy is the smart play.
2 comments:
Definitely encouraging results for Moskos. I'm still optimistic that he could be John Grabow Part Deux, maybe better than that, which wouldn't be a bad thing---even if you want more than that from a first round pick, ideally speaking. But a Grabow type, ie, a reliable two inning lefthanded setup man and occasional closer, is still a valuable commodity.
Couldn't agree more, Will. I don't see him as a Gonzo type, but he could well settle into a Grabow role.
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