Oakland Athletics expect Sean Doolittle to return Friday
By Ed Carroll
The Oakland Athletics are expected to activate closer Sean Doolittle from the disabled list tomorrow, reports the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser:
Melvin fully expects Doolittle to come off DL tomorrow. Big for bullpen as whole, getting everyone back in usual roles.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) September 11, 2014
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Doolittle originally went on the DL on August 25 with a right intercostal strain, and considering neither Doolittle nor the team had much of a timetable for the reliever’s return, a few weeks is not too long to wait for an injury which can sometimes take a month or more to heal.
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Doolittle is having his best season yet in 2014, and in 55.1 innings (54 games), the lefty has a 2.28 ERA and 20 saves. He’s allowed 14 earned runs all season, but most impressively, he’s only walked five batters all year.
The 27-year old has 80 strikeouts, and has likely established himself as Oakland’s closer as the team hits the final stretch of games, and potentially the playoffs.
Doolittle, an All-Star this year, threw 20 pitches with a hitter standing in the box (but not swinging) and felt no discomfort, so barring any setbacks, the Oakland bullpen looks to be getting a big boost soon from the hairy lefty.