FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi reports that the Detroit Tigers are going to place reliever Al Alburquerque on the 15-day disabled list. The reason? Alburquerque is apparently dealing with right elbow inflammation.
News of Alburquerque's injury comes two nights after he threw a season-high 42 pitches in 1.1 innings against the New York Mets. He also threw 25 pitches last Sunday and 39 pitches last Wednesday.
Alburquerque has had a stellar rookie season and has been one of the Tigers' best relievers, but evidently this issue is enough of a cause for concern that Detroit is putting him on the shelf for at least 15 days.
Nothing has been confirmed, but it appears the Tigers have called up Lester Oliveros from Triple-A Toledo to take Alburquerque's spot on the roster. The Toledo Blade reported on Thursday night that Oliveros' locker was cleared out, and Oliveros' brother spilled the beans on the news on Twitter.
Earlier this week, the Tigers sent down Daniel Schlereth, who was struggling mightily. They replaced him with Brayan Villarreal, who was sent down in May after spending the first part of the season with the Tigers. Detroit also recalled Brad Thomas, who was the subject of some trade rumors earlier this week. The Tigers are leaving Thomas on the disabled list for the time being.