A's place Doolittle on the disabled list; recall Otero from Sacramento

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland A's placed left-handed pitcher Sean Doolittle on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right intercostal, the club announced today. To take his spot on the roster, the A's recalled right-handed pitcher Dan Otero from Triple-A Sacramento.

Doolittle is 1-3 with 20 saves and a 2.28 ERA in 54 relief appearances. He has issued just five walks in 55.1 innings and has 80 strikeouts for a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 16.00. Doolittle leads American League relievers in opponents on-base percentage (.190), ranks fifth in strikeouts, sixth in opponents slugging percentage (.256) and eighth in saves and opponents batting average (.171). He leads Major League relievers in strikeout-to-walk ratio and is averaging the fewest walks per nine innings (0.81).

Otero was on the A's Opening Day roster and was 7-1 with a save and a 2.28 ERA in 56 relief appearances when he was optioned to Sacramento on Thursday. He did not appear in a game with the River Cats. With the A's, Otero has allowed a .250 opponents batting average and has issued just nine walks, an average of 1.14 per nine innings. He leads AL relievers in wins, ranks second in innings pitched (71.0) and is third in fewest walks per nine innings.