And with Cole Hamels' status uncertain - the veteran left last night's 9-1 win over the Marlins in the eighth inning with stiffness in his back, but said he will make his next start - the Phillies certainly could use another arm capable of pitching multiple innings.
Worley allowed three runs with six strikeouts and two walks against Louisville on Monday, meaning he will be on regular rest should the Phillies call on him to start on Saturday. At that point, the Phillies could decide to keep Worley in the rotation and slide Kendrick back to the bullpen, where he has spent most of the season, and where there likely would be a vacancy because they would have to free up a roster spot to accommodate Worley.
In that scenario, Worley would get either two or three more starts before the All-Star break, depending on how the Phillies utilize their off days and whether they want to get both Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay an extra start before the break. (Pitching coach Rich Dubee said yesterday that righthander Joe Blanton will not be ready to return from the disabled list until after the break.)
The Phillies could do the same with Kendrick, but they have said in the past that they want Worley starting regularly. And if they send somebody like David Herndon to the minors, they would have to wait 10 days before recalling him per baseball's roster rules, except in case of injury.
Yesterday, neither Dubee nor Charlie Manuel was ready to name Worley the starter, although Manuel said, "We're thinking about it," followed by, "We kind of know [what we are going to do]," followed by, "We'll definitely consider pitching [Worley] Saturday."
