Willis Back With Tigers
May 22nd 2008 01:16
Dontrelle Willis is back from the DL.
Dontrelle Willis has been on the 15-day disabled list since April 12th due to a hyperextended right knee. He has been rehabbing at Triple-A Toledo where he was 1-1 with a 4.41 ERA in three starts. Saturday at Columbus he went six innings while allowing one run on five hits with four strikeouts.
He will be joining the Tigers bullpen though, and not the starting rotation. Armando Galarraga who took his spot in the rotation will remain there. It would be hard for Jim Leyland to remove Galarraga from the rotation seeing how he is tied for the team lead in wins at 3-1. He will start Friday against the Twins.
To make room for Willis the team placed reliever Clay Rapada (2-0) on the 15-day DL with biceps tendonitis.
Willis isn’t demoted to the bullpen, Leyland has put him there as a sort of extended rehab. He said he hoped the bullpen stint would, "get Dontrelle Willis back to the Dontrelle Willis we know." Prior to his DL visit Willis had started two games and pitched just five innings while allowing 9 walks, he also had a bloated ERA of 7.20.
Willis came to the Tigers in the offseason along with Miguel Cabrera as part of the Marlins most recent “fire sale” of established talent. Cabrera has been a bit more productive for the Tigers so far. He is currently batting .283 with seven home runs, and 25 RBIs.
Detroit could certainly use the old Dontrelle Willis to provide some stability. They are currently strugglling at 18-27 and are buried at the bottom of the A.L. Central, 6.5 games behind the Sox, and 3 full games behind the fourth place Royals.
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