Al Alburquerque Activated From DL After Rehab Assignment
Al Alburquerque hasn't seen the field since being struck with a ball during batting practice on August 12. He was activated from the DL on Sunday in time for the Tigers' Sunday night nationally televised game.
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Tigers relief pitcher Al Alburquerque, who suffered a concussion when he was hit in the side of the head with a line drive during batting practice on August 12, will be in the Tigers’ bullpen tonight when the team looks to sweep the White Sox on national television:
The Tigers today recalled Al Alburquerque from his injury rehab assignment and activated him from the DL. #mlb
Alburquerque only needed one game in Triple-A Toledo for his rehab assignment before getting activated from the DL. Alburquerque pitched last night for the Mud Hens, throwing 2/3 of an inning, allowing two hits, a run, and striking out two in Colorado.
Alburquerque has been a huge perk to the Tigers’ bullpen this year, so his return is obviously very welcome. He touted a 5-1 record, 57 strikeouts and a 2.19 ERA in 37 innings before being hit in the side of the head and hitting the DL.
"He was examined by Dr. Andrew Russman this morning," head athletic trainer Kevin Rand said. "He's cleared to begin all activity, which he's done today. It's just a question now of getting him ready to pitch."
Leyland anticipates that Alburquerque will join the Tigers on Thursday when the rosters expand. That doesn't leave much time for Alburquerque to face hitters beforehand, though. Alburquerque threw today, but hasn't faced any hitters in almost three weeks. If the concussion was good for anything, it's that Alburquerque was able to rest the nagging tender elbow he was experiencing weeks before the concussion.
Alburquerque had a 5-1 record, 57 strikeouts and a 2.19 ERA in 37 innings before being concussed and hitting the DL.
Tigers pitcher Al Alburquerque, who was hit in the side of the head with a line drive during batting practice yesterday, was released from the hospital today and is resting as comfortably as one possibly can after getting plunked in the head at the team hotel in Baltimore. According to MLIVE's Tigers beat writer Chris Iott, Alburquerque will be driven home tomorrow because he is unable to fly with the diagnosed concussion.
Anytime you're dealing with internal bleeding inside the head, precautions are reasonably heightened; therefore, Alburquerque has been put on anti-seizure medications (along with pain meds, I imagine) despite the fact the bleeding was only mild and they don't foresee any seizures actually happening. Iott also mentioned that Tigers' trainer Kevin Rand said that Alburquerque was struck right above his left ear and the Tigers are encouraged that he was released from the hospital today.
Alburquerque was put on the seven-day DL yesterday, a new DL this season for concussed players, but there is no real timetable for his return. As I mentioned in an update last night (which has the video of the injury), Orioles' second baseman Brian Roberts has missed most of this season with concussion-like symptoms after suffering a self-inflicted concussion. Hopefully, Alburquerque's recovery is speedier than Roberts'.
Because Alburquerque's injury is a concussion, he is headed to the seven-day disabled list, which is new for this year. Rather than force players with concussions to be on the disabled list for 15 days, the new seven-day DL gives players like Alburquerque a week to recover. This also gives teams roster flexibility and doesn't force them to be down a man if a concussion isn't severe enough to require a trip to the 15-day DL.
Of course, this early on there's no telling how long Alburquerque might be out. The hope is he will be fine in a week and not need to spend any time on the DL beyond that, but it's not clear if that will be the case or not. Concussions can keep a player out for a day or two or even up to a year. It all depends on how Alburquerque recovers.
With Alburquerque set to miss the next week at the least, the Tigers have decided to call up Ryan Perry from Triple-A Toledo.
Alburquerque was conscious and responsive -- both very good initial signs -- but had to be carted off the field and taken to a nearby hospital for tests (a CT scan most importantly). As our Ian Casselberry noted, early signs indicated that Alburquerque was responding well to treatment.
Shortly into the game, the Tigers issued a tweet with an update on Alburquerque's condition, stating that he suffered a concussion when the ball struck him in the head and that he will be held overnight for further observation.
A concussion is a serious brain injury, so Alburquerque will be watched very carefully tonight and tomorrow to see how he responds to further treatment. Hopefully this won't be the kind of concussion that keeps Alburquerque out of action for too long, like the concussion-like symptoms that have kept Orioles' second baseman Brian Roberts out for most of the season.
Alburquerque was struck in the head by a ball during batting practice before Friday's game against the Orioles. He was carted off the field and taken to a local hospital for tests.
