Octavio Dotel placed on DL; Luke Putkonen recalled

Remember Luke Putkonen? He's back.

The Detroit Tigers placed ailing right-hander Octavio Dotel on the disabled list on Tuesday, while also announcing the return of reliever Putkonen.

Also a right-hander, Putkonen didn't have a great debut to his major-league career, as he left the Tigers with an 8.59 ERA and 2.59 WHIP. Some of that was just bad luck. One memorable game he forced opposing batters to hit ground balls repeatedly, meanwhile his fielders couldn't turn a single one into an out. On the other hand, he also walked five in 7 1/3 innings. However, he did strike out six batters.

Dotel has been placed on the disabled list with elbow inflammation. He has not thrown a pitch since June 2. Prior to that, from May 30-June 2 (2 2/3 IP), he allowed four earned runs on four hits and two walks.

The Tigers had recalled Jose Ortega last week because of Dotel's situation, but could no longer ignore it.

This is just another in a long line of injuries suffered by the team this year, as detailed by Patrick on Monday.