Ryan Vogelsong: Replacement options if San Francisco Giants starting pitcher continues to falter

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April 17, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Ryan Vogelsong (32) delivers a pitch during the sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Though he was brought back to be a sixth man of sorts for the Giants’ rotation, injuries immediately thrust Ryan Vogelsong into a featured role that included three starts for San Francisco in the month of April.

As we all know, the results haven’t been pretty. A statistical rundown (amongst pitchers with at least 10 innings pitched):

ERA: 9.31 – the fifth-worst in MLB
HR/9 IP: 3.62 – the worst in MLB
WAR: -.8 – the worst in MLB

That last stat is particularly damning, as it essentially outs Vogelsong as the least valuable pitcher in all of baseball to date.

Despite his struggles, Bruce Bochy has made it clear that he is sticking with Vogelsong as a starter (via CSN Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic): “We need him right now,” Bochy said. “We have a couple pitchers on the DL. …Right now, we need him.”

How long Bochy backs his veteran arm is uncertain, but if Vogey continues to get pounded by the opposition, management is going to have to consider other options.

But what are those options, exactly?

Next: On to slide two