Estes Demoted to Portland

More cuts and demotions are coming, but today was Shawn Estes's turn to bite the bullet. With the hot competition for the #5 role the odd man out so far is the aging veteran.
MLB.com is reporting the move has been made and more are to come soon. Bud Black said the announcement of the #5 role could be as soon as tomorrow.

On the pitching side, Estes, who came to camp a candidate to win the fifth-starter spot, will open the season in Portland after going 1-3 with a 12.27 ERA in 11 innings.

"We'd like him to go to Portland and be part of that rotation and continue to get his work to get back into Major League ready form," Black said. "He's pitched roughly 30 innings in two years. He just has to get back into the whole rhythm of being a starting pitcher, get a feel for all of his pitches, getting back into the tempo and flow of a game."

There are four pitchers vying for the final three spots in the bullpen: Glendon Rusch, Wil Ledezma, Kevin Cameron and Enrique Gonzalez. Cameron might be the odd man out, as he has only thrown 4 1/3 innings (10.38 ERA) because of first a hamstring injury and then a broken left thumb.

Cameron has Minor League options while Gonzalez (2.31) does not, which could prove to be the determining factor.

For this Padre fan.....it was a long time coming for this move.....thankfully we have better options for that #5 role. I also can get on board with the idea of keeping him in Portland in case of an emergency. After all you can never have too many arms right ?