| Royals place closer Dotel on DL |
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| Written by Admin |
| Wednesday, 04 April 2007 13:03 |
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Kansas City Royals put closer Octavio Dotel on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday because of a strained muscle on his left side. Dotel, limited to only a handful of appearances the last two years while recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery, had pitched well in spring training after signing a one-year contract. The Royals are counting on him to revive a bullpen that blew a major league-high 31 saves last year. The move is retroactive to March 30. ``He really threw great,'' manager Buddy Bell said. ``He threw a lot of sinkers. His sinker got exceptionally better as the spring went on.'' Bell said the injury is ``not a real dangerous issue.'' ``Until it goes away, there's really not a whole lot you can do about it,'' said Bell. ``We don't think it's something that's going to linger.'' Bell said an MRI had exposed a ``hot spot'' on his left, non-throwing side. ``There was no tear of anything like that. It's irritable for him.'' Right-hander David Riske will take on the role of closer. ``David has had some experience closing, so that's probably the biggest reason why he's in that spot right now,'' Bell said. ``But if we're in a situation where a guy's throwing good going into the ninth, we just might let him pitch the ninth rather than bring in Dave.'' The Royals purchased right-hander Jason Standridge's contract from Triple-A Omaha. To make room for Standridge on the 40-man roster, right-hander Leo Nunez (fractured right wrist) was moved from the 15-day DL to the 60-day. Standridge has appeared in 76 major league games during his career while pitching for Tampa Bay, Texas and Cincinnati. He is 3-8 with a 5.64 ERA. |
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