Athletics' Sean Doolittle: Scheduled to throw off mound soon

Doolittle, who battled shoulder problems in each of the last two seasons and thus is being brought along slowly, will soon begin throwing off a mound, Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area reports.

Doolittle was limited to 52.2 innings over the 2014-15 seasons due to his injuries, amassing three wins, 11 holds and eight saves over that span. That followed a 22-save effort in 2014, a level of performance that the 30-year-old southpaw hopes to attain or exceed in the coming season. It remains to be seen if Doolittle will get the opportunity to close out games, though, as manager Bob Melvin recently commented that he remains undecided about whether he'll opt to deploy just one pitcher in that role. However, Doolittle figures to thrive as a setup man if called upon, as he remains a highly effective strikeout specialist (10.38 K/9 in 2016) with solid control (1.85 BB/9) and a fastball in the mid-90s.