The Pirates officially signed reliever Octavio Dotel to a one-year deal with a club option for 2011. Dotel will earn $3.25MM in 2010, plus bonuses for games finished. The 2011 club option, which becomes mutual if the 36-year-old is traded, is for $4.5MM with a $250K buyout. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette broke the news of the agreement and added the details via Twitter.
Dotel, 36, will close for the Pirates in 2010. Last year for the White Sox he posted a 10.8 K/9, 5.2 BB/9, and 3.32 ERA in 62.3 innings, so control may be an issue. Dotel had joined the Sox on a two-year, $11MM deal in January of '08.
For a guaranteed payout of roughly $6MM, Pirates GM Neal Huntington has revamped his bullpen by adding Dotel, Brendan Donnelly, D.J. Carrasco, and Javier Lopez. The Bucs subtracted '09 pen members Matt Capps, Jesse Chavez, Steven Jackson, Denny Bautista, Phil Dumatrait, and Chris Bootcheck this winter.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Cardinals.
He is not gonna go to STL to be a set up man. He will go to PIT to be a closer.
Even though Ryan Franklin was good this year and even made the Allstar Game there is still a little talk about picking up another arm and possible switch Franklin and the other around to find out what the best fit for the Cardinals closer.. I know it sounds weird but thats the way La Russa and the organization works when it comes to the bullpin.
If Evan Meek is throwing 100 MPH after spring training, OR if Joel Hanrahan can mentally prepare himself for the job, Dotel should be mid season trade bait. Excellent acquisition for the Pirates. If by some freak of nature the buccos have several players have career years all at once, perhaps he is retained, but most of us realize that the odds of that are fairly slim. Good job Neal.
That bullpen looks a whole lot better now than it did at the start of last season.
The Pirates must have known something was wrong with Matt Capps if they non-tendered him with the explanation that he was getting too expensive, but are going to spend the money on Dotel to replace his production.
It wasn’t just that he was too expensive, it’s that he was too expensive to justify given his performance last year. The Pirates expect him to rebound some but not to the point where they feel he’s worth $3.5 million. Huntington also correctly read the market this year and knew there would be a lot of decent options available at bargain prices. Nice work so far this off season.
Dotel will be trade bait when the Pirates are 20 games back on July 31.
man another cardinal option slips away, valverde, church, now dotel..sigh.
while it looks likely, I m not sure its a done deal… the Pirates would be more likely than most to lose players to last-minute offers!
That’s if the player’s top motiviation is money alone, which you’d be absolutely right. And, given, you have a high probability of being correct because, let’s face it, money is one of the biggest factors (if not biggest in most cases) as to why a player signs anywhere. Take the Church signing, however, in that Church sees the Pirates’ club as pretty lowly, able to offer similar financial numbers elsewhere and also later down the road able to provide him a place to play fairly often. There were also his connections with Neal that played into it.Dotel may see that the bullpen is ripe for the picking, and all he has to do is have an average (by his standards) season in order to be front runner for the closer job.I am liking these signings by Neal. I don’t feel as if any of them are signings for signing sake, but rather players with low risk, medium to high reward.
Assuming it’s in the $3-4m range this could be a great signing.
This is a very bad move for the Bucs. Dotel has sucked for the last 4 years.
yeah you have no idea what you’re talking about.
Actually, I know exactly what I’m talking about. If the game is meaningless, he’ll give you two good innings, if it matters, he’ll give you three batters.
The guy blows, if you want to pretend he’s good, fine, but that won’t help him get a meaningful out any time soon.
Dotel was hurt for one of those years, but double-digit K/9’s isn’t exactly chopped liver. How do you come to this conclusion?
Actually, I know exactly what I’m talking about. If the game is meaningless, he’ll give you two good innings, if it matters, he’ll give you three batters.
The guy blows, if you want to pretend he’s good, fine, but that won’t help him get a meaningful out any time soon.
If by having a 3.55 ERA the past 2 seasons for the White Sox — yeah, he sucked.
He brings MUCH NEEDED experience to the bullpen.
Not sure i like this move. He’s a Type A free agent. Huntington has done a good job with the draft, I don’t know if I’d give up the draft pick for Dotel.
I wouldn’t say he has sucked for the last 4 years. 2007-67 IP, 92K, 3.76 ERA. 2008-62.1 IP, 75K, 3.32 ERA.
But, he has blown 7 of his 8 save opportunities in the last 2 years.
yes, he’s just not a closer for whatever reason. gives up some…odd.. home runs. then he’ll strike out the next 4 guys.
But he wasnt offered arbitration so it wont cost the bucs a draft pick
But he wasnt offered arbitration so it wont cost the bucs a draft pick
sry double post
that would explain why no one else mentioned the draft pick.
that would explain why no one else mentioned the draft pick.
sry double post
Their first rounder is protected anyways. And he wasn’t offered arb
Dotel was the Sox’ second best reliever last year next to Thorton. Whoever said he sucked obviously didnt watch too many games. If Chicago wouldnt have gone out and gotten J.J. Putz then I would be worried about replacing him im the pen. Im not so sure how effective he will be as a closer but if he can do it then it will be in the NL Central. Top notch signing along with Carrasco. Not sure why KW didnt keep him.
The Bucs need to get this done, more bullpen depth is a good thing, as well as July trade bait.
In just one week, the Pirates have turned into a team that may actually reach 70 wins next season (if, see: best-case-scenarios for Jones, McCutchen, Milledge, Church, Iwamura, LaRoche/Alvarez, Doumit, Ohlendorf, Duke, Maholm, Morton, Duke, and Lincoln).
In just one week, the Pirates have turned into a team that may actually reach 70 wins next season (if, see: best-case-scenarios for Jones, McCutchen, Milledge, Church, Iwamura, LaRoche/Alvarez, Doumit, Ohlendorf, Duke, Maholm, Morton, Duke, and Lincoln).
Don’t know how accurate it is, but the site Inside Pittsburgh Sports says that they are working on finalizing the incentives involved, but the deal should be for a base salary around $2.85 million, with games finished incentives that could bring it up to around $3.25. Seems like a pretty reasonable price for a guy like Dotel.
Don’t know how accurate it is, but the site Inside Pittsburgh Sports says that they are working on finalizing the incentives involved, but the deal should be for a base salary around $2.85 million, with games finished incentives that could bring it up to around $3.25. Seems like a pretty reasonable price for a guy like Dotel.
Excellent job Neal! Another quality signing by the bucs this off-season.
Just with bullpen upgrades we may get an 8-10 game improvement from last season.
With 1-2 position players having a breakout season, this pirate team may not finish in the cellar of the division, which isnt the goal, but is defintiely a move in the correct direction.
Maholm is sure to be pleased. How many leads did the bullpen blow for him last year? Duke as well…….although he’ll be traded soon.
I feel really bad for Pirates fans. Their owner just keeps screwing the fans year after year. And this is coming from a Royals fan, haha.
Good signing for the Bucs though.
Feel bad for yourself bro, this management team is doing some good things. If the money is there in the future to retain these guys through free agency, they should contend.
I think you misunderstood me. I think the Pirates fans deserve better than what ownership has given them the past few decades. I am glad they are making moves to better the team. Thats all I meant dude. Meant no offense.
I dont feel bad at all. The Littlefield regime left everyone in this city hopeless because there was no plan. Neal and Frank definitely have a plan, and they are executing it just as they have promised from day 1. This year will be a good barometer at their ability to identify talent.
I hope you’re right! Would love to see the Pirates get back to their 70’s prominence!
I really didn’t mean anything insulting, just saying I feel your pain being a Royals fan.
Understood, my man, and well appreciated. The Royals and Bucs are much alike in terms of their performances the past two decades, so you certainly understand where we’re coming from. I can just hope that Alvarez pans out to be as valuable of a baseball player as Greinke seems to be!
I sure hope so too! Pulling for Alverez like no other. I sure hope he get’s as good as Greinke has been for awhile!
Funny thing is when people only look at stats, and say Greinke has only had one good year without ever physically seeing them pitch. Feel bad for ignorant stat heads.
I wonder if the Pirates considered signing B.J. Ryan to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training?
Neal honestly seems to look for angles everywhere and seems not to leave too many stones unturned, so I would assume that they considered it. But for one reason or another didnt think it was a sound decision. OR, they did make an offer but kept it quiet.
I think you misunderstood me. I think the Pirates fans deserve better than what ownership has given them the past few decades. I am glad they are making moves to better the team. Thats all I meant dude. Meant no offense.
Echo..echo…echo
Starters-1.Zach Duke-L2.Ross Ohlendorf-R3.Paul Maholm-L4.Daniel McCutchen-R5.Kevin Hart or Charlie MortonBull Pen:Kevin Hart or Charlie MortonJoe HanrahanBrendan DonnellyJavier LopezDonnie VealChris JakubauskasCloser:Octavio Dotelthat is a much improved pen, plus Capps and Chavez aren’t there anymore to blow 10 games each.Line-up:1.Andrew McCutchen-CF2.Akinori Iwamora-2B3.Garrett Jones-1B4.Ryan Doumit-C5.Ryan Church-RF6.Andy Laroche-3B7.Lastings Milledge-LF8.Ronny Cedeno-SSour bench is improved as well, they should look into adding another veteran batThe whole team is much improved, IF everyone plays to their full potential then the Pirates could be the 2010 Twins
Morton is a shoe-in for the starting rotation. McCutchen/Hart will battle for the 5th spot.
stko1103… i think the lineup should go like this.
1. A. McCutchen CF
2. A. Iwamura 2B
3. G. Jones RF
4. R. Doumit C
5. L. Milledge LF
6. J. Clement 1B *****
7. A. LaRoche 3B
8. R. Cedeno SS
Bench
R. Church OF
B. Crosby INF
R. Vasquez INF
J. Jaramillo C
D. Young OF/2B-B. Jones OF-B.Moss OF- J. Raynor OF
They should give Hanrahan the first opportunity to close and keep Dotel in SU role and if Hanrahan falters let Dotel step in.
Bullpen will be
LRP Chris Jakubauskas RHP/ Brian Bass RHP/ Brian Burress LHP/ J. Karstens RHP
MRP D.J Carrasco RHP
MRP B. Donnelly RHP
MRP J. Lopez LHP
SU E. Meek RHP
SU O. Dotel RHP
CL J. Hanrahan RHP
Starters
1. Duke LHP
2. Ohlendorf RHP
3. Maholm LHP
4. Morton RHP
5. Hart RHP
Ryan Church will be a bench player, Jones will be in RF, and Clement will be at 1B, plus dont forget DJ Carrassco in the pen…nor am I sold about Danny Cutch, Jakubauskas, or Veal making the big league team out of Spring Training.
oh yeah i forgot about Carrasco, but i highly doubt Clement will be a starter, i heard his defense is terrible, but then again it all depends on how he performs in spring training
I’d rather Clement get some seasoning down at AAA since he has an option left. From what I’ve read, watching Clement field grounders at first is like watching your grandmother take a shower.
Although I agree with both of you that he might struggle at first, management has made it very clear they want his bat in the lineup to see if he is a big league player. 100% ready or not, I’ll bet the farm Jeff Clement is the opening day first baseman.
glad to see this finally got done. fingers crossed on the physical. lineup is looking pretty good for once. all it takes to have cinderella season is for a few guys to have career years. ya never know!
Regarding Dotel with the White Sox last year, when he was good, he was very good. When he was bad, he just sucked. He tends to give up long, long home runs at bad times.
He could be a good signing for the Pirates. Losing 10-15 pounds would not hurt him at all.
I think Donnie Veal is going to be the Evan meek of 2010. The guy is electric. I love this bullpen, and I want to see Hanrahan close to start the year. If he grows into the job, then you have a solid set-up crew in front of him, if not you have Dotel/Meek to turn to. Anything is better than Capps (Jose Mesa Jr.).
LOL SOOOOO close…We almost made it through an off-season without a Jose Mesa reference. Maybe next year.
I’m high on Veal as well – but I really think he needs a lot of time at AAA still. He clearly wasn’t ready to make the jump from AA last year, so logging a lot of innings as a starter at Indy should help him tremendously. Also, I think the Pirates see him as a starter in the future instead of a reliever. Probably won’t see Veal again until September, unless there are injuries or trades to the rotation before then.
As for Hanrahan, I’d rather see him stick to a setup role for now, rather than dumped right back into the closer role. He really struggled with it in Washington, but was dominant for Pittsburgh without that added pressure. let him build up some more confidence before throwing him back in there. If he keeps it up, then move him back to closer and flip Dotel for a good prospect. Maybe even package Church and Dotel for a similar package like they got for Nady and Marte.
Smart signing by the Pirates. Dotel should be better than Capps. I would also take him above Rodney and Lyons (who both signed for more dollars and years).
Very happy to see us get Doc Ock. Any chance of signing B.J. Ryan to a minor league deal and kick the wheels in Spring Training?
I think the Pirates are making some savvy moves. Good for them.
man why didnt the cardinals go after him, only 3.25MM come on….. oh well i guess dotel would rather be a closer than a contender, understandable.