Joe Maddon wanted six-man rotation before pandemic, some candidates

As Los Angeles Angels manager Joe Maddon confirms he’s been thinking about a six-man rotation no matter how the schedule looks, who are some candidates to fill the role?

If baseball returns in 2020, the schedule is going to look a lot different than it does over a normal six-month season. Likely, there will be less days off, more double-headers, and a push to fit as many games as possible into a short timeframe.

It is expected that Major League Baseball will allow teams to expand their rosters to accommodate for a compressed season, as rest will be at a premium. To help compensate, teams will likely employ six or seven-man rotations to start the season, especially if a second Spring Training is abbreviated and pitchers need more time to stretch out their arms.

When asked if he had considered a six-man rotation given the compressed schedule, Angels manager Joe Maddon revealed it was something he thought about doing before all of this happened.

“That was something I wanted to do anyway, Billy [Eppler] and I had talked about. I think we have the personnel to do that,” Maddon said on the most recent episode of Maddon Mondays.

The Angels have two recovering arms to manage, independent of any new schedule. They were expected to limit Shohei Ohtani‘s return to the mound to starts only once per week, possibly on Wednesdays. And Griffin Canning could be on a strict innings watch after an injury scare during the spring.

If the Halos go to a six-man rotation, you can expect the top of the staff to include Andrew Heaney, Julio Teheran, Dylan Bundy, along with Ohtani and Canning, if both are healthy.

Who would be the best candidate for the sixth spot?