A return to the bullpen may be inevitable for Alex Wood at this point. Virtually every Braves beat writer speculates he'll be the odd man out both because he's already accustomed to relieving and because the Braves wish to limit his innings after he threw 143 between the majors, minors and playoffs last season.

But it is only speculation right now. The Braves still plan for Wood to start Sunday's game, so it's not like they're looking to take him out. Gavin Floyd's emergence is less an excuse to do so than Aaron Harang's downfall would be an excuse to leave Wood in. It just hasn't happened yet -- not to the extent it would need to, anyway.

Part of me wonders if the Braves are waiting to see what Harang does Monday before committing to Wood in one role or the other. They couldn't have expected the 35-year-old journeyman to perform this well when they signed him, but since he has, they're not so anxious to turn the page. Now would be a good time for him to falter since they have the depth, but if he doesn't, it's an opportunity to cut back on Wood's innings for a while.

And I do believe it would be only a while. If the Braves view Wood as a starter long-term -- and they must with the way he's performed in the role -- they need to continue building up his innings, which would require a move back to the rotation at some point. Because I expect Harang to flop sooner than later, I wouldn't be looking to dump Wood right now.