5:42pm: The Pirates have not offered Dotel a contract in the vicinity of $3MM, a source involved in the talks tells Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. While there have been talks between the parties, there has been nothing "to that extent."
1:46pm: The Pittsburgh Pirates have made Octavio Dotel an offer to be their closer, according to Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports. Calcaterra writes that the offer is worth about $3MM, plus incentives for games finished.
Dotel has posted solid numbers over the past two seasons in a setup role for the White Sox, but has not been asked to close since 2007, when he saved 11 games for the Royals. Over his career, Dotel has recorded 83 saves in various stints as the closer in Houston, Oakland, and Kansas City.
If Dotel were to accept the Pirates' ninth-inning job, it would be another blow to a closing market that has an excess of free agents and not enough teams in need. While the Pirates were never expected to splurge on Jose Valverde or Fernando Rodney, a Dotel signing could close another door on fringe closing candidates such as Mike MacDougal and Kevin Gregg.
