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.