Hello Bullpen My Old Friend

Diamond Leung reports that HongZhi Guo will likely be starting the season in the bullpen.

Skinny: I really don't find this as a surprise and I see little problem with this plan. The only downside is that Guo does not have a history of being effective pitching in relief. I am not confident that the sample size is large enough for this to be a future trend. On the otherhand, this could wind up helping Guo by taking some pressure off of him. As a bullpen pitcher he would likely be pitching lower leverage innings. Coming off of off-season surgery, starting the season in the bullpen could help put a limit on the number of innings that Guo pitches in this year. I see it as highly unlikely to have Guo start AND finish the season in the starting rotation. The best scenario is for him to follow the path that Chad Billingsley took last year. Starting the season in the bullpen and then working his way into the rotation based on merit and a rotation spot opening up. With the uncertainty of Schmidt's health and the possible ineffectiveness of Loaiza, Guo could shortly find himself called upon to enter the starting rotation by June.