Contemplating J.T. Chargois

J.T. Chargois was
a college teammate
of Tyler Duffey.

Another short start, another night of bullpen abuse, another roster move to shore up a depleted pitching staff.

Kyle Gibson made it through just five innings Friday. Pat Dean, recalled after the Thursday doubleheader disaster, threw three innings of relief. Dean's outing followed a scoreless inning from J.T. Chargois.

The handling of Chargois the past two days is ... interesting is too bland a description. Infuriating might be a bit strong, but closer to the truth. Potentially counterproductive, that's my critique.

Chargois threw 25 pitches in the first game Thursday, providing 2.2 innings of scoreless relief. He came back for another scoreless inning, just nine pitches, the next day.

To be sure, Paul Molitor was -- and still is -- dealing with a crisis. He got a total of 10 innings from three starters in two days, and somebody had to soak up the innings. Andrew Albers threw six innings in one game Thursday and got DFA'd Friday in return.

Chargois, a prime short relief prospect who has been used gingerly this season -- he didn't pitch at all in 2013-14 -- is not ideal for multi-inning appearances or for back-to-back outings. His managers in both Double A and Triple A avoided doing either, and concern about the possibility of overusing him was supposedly part of why his first big league callup lasted just one appearance. (So was the fact that he got crushed in that outing, giving up five runs in two-thirds of an inning.)

Again, somebody had to pitch, and Chargois was on the roster. But if he gets hurt in these mop-up roles, that would be expensive collateral damage.