FanHouse

The Detroit Tigers will be getting Dontrelle Willis back from the disabled list today or tomorrow but don't go rushing to your television to watch his next start. It might be a while. The Tigers are going to use the D-Train as baseball's most expensive long reliever while they try to work out the problems that plagued him before his injury.

It's been a while so we'll review. Willis walked nine batters and struck out none over two April starts with the Tigers before he landed on the DL. He did a bit better in Toledo during three rehab starts, seven walks in 16 innings, but the need to repair his pitching this soon into his Tiger tenure raises the question about how well that three-year, $29 million contract the Tigers gave him will hold up.

Willis is still young but he got ridden quite hard by the Marlins from a very young age and has shown some signs of breakdown. His exploding walk rate, regressing strikeout rate and nagging injuries all point to Willis being more likely to continue feel the impact of being pushed at a young age than recovering the 2005 form that's getting pretty far in the rearview mirror.

That said, if he recovers enough to become something in the neighborhood of league average, the Tigers will have a spot for him. Kenny Rogers and Nate Robertson have been brutal and it's gotten late early in Motown.