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Octavio Dotel

Odds And Ends: White Sox, Smoltz, Lowrie

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A few links for Thursday morning…

Odds & Ends: Igarashi, Cubs, Cardinals

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Links for Friday…

Stark On White Sox, Bedard, A’s, Penny

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A new Rumblings and Grumblings column from ESPN's Jayson Stark…

  • Even if they don't acquire Jake Peavy, the White Sox are apparently "open for business."  Stark takes that to mean names such as Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Octavio Dotel, and A.J. Pierzynski could hit the market.
  • The Mariners are not quite yet at the point of making Erik Bedard available.  They figure to price him like an ace if they do so.
  • If A's GM Billy Beane decides to fold on 2009, he could make veterans such as Matt Holliday, Orlando Cabrera, Jason Giambi, and Russ Springer available.
  • It's very unlikely that the D'Backs shop Brandon Webb this summer, since he'll be coming off a shoulder injury.
  • Indians GM Mark Shapiro seems to be leaning toward hanging on to Cliff Lee for now.  Shapiro may look to add pitching by trading Mark DeRosa or an outfielder.
  • The Red Sox are "actively listening" on Brad Penny.  My opinion: the Phillies, Indians, White Sox, or Mets could make sense.

Odds and Ends: Dotel, Valverde, Wilkerson

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Some Saturday odds and ends to mull over…

  • The Yankees considered bringing Octavio Dotel back, but wouldn’t go two years on him.
  • Richard Justice thinks Astros GM Ed Wade is making a mistake by setting a deadline and going to arbitration hearings with Jose Valverde and Mark Loretta.  I doubt the Astros wanted Loretta to accept their offer of arbitration in the first place, but they took the $4-5MM gamble hoping to get a draft pick.  But they actively sought out Valverde, and this might not bode well for him staying past 2009.
  • Can’t promise anything, but my source is saying Brad Wilkerson is likely to become a Mariner on a one-year deal.  Put this in the unconfirmed category for now.
  • Did the Rangers DFA Armando Galarraga in anticipation of including him in a trade?
  • Troy Tulowitzki explanation: he can opt out of his $15MM club option for 2014 if he’s traded. Tracy Ringolsby also reports that Garrett Atkins had unfruitful extension talks with the Rox last year and would still like to stay.
  • "No substantive negotiations" on a multiyear deal for Ryan Zimmerman.
  • Casey Blake’s agent put in a counteroffer but hasn’t heard back from the Indians yet; the two sides are $1.5MM apart on his ’08 salary.

Odds and Ends: Howard, Aardsma, Odalis

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Here we go, another random collection of links.

  • The Red Sox inked a couple of former closers to minor league deals: Dan Kolb and Dan Miceli.  No need to run out and pick them up for your fantasy team.  I think Papelbon is secure.
  • Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says the Red Sox are hunting for a lefty bench bat.  Tony Clark emailed him to say he’d love a return to Boston, but Cafardo says he’s not on the top of the list.  Clark hit .207/.265/.291 for the ’02 Sox.
  • A few comments from Pat Gillick on the Ryan Howard situation.  He says the Phillies are "open to anything."  Gillick also claimed arbitration hearings really aren’t all that contentious.  I guess that could be true, I’ve never been in the room for one.
  • The official acquisition of Octavio Dotel meant the White Sox DFA’d David Aardsma.  Aardsma, 26, has whiffed about a batter per inning over his last two seasons.  He has to have a little bit of trade value.
  • Impacto Deportivo says the Mets will meet with Odalis Perez.  Two left-handed O. Perez’s might confuse opponents, giving the Mets an advantage.  Really though it’s a good idea for Omar to stockpile some arms even if Odalis doesn’t have much left.  One thing’s for sure, he won’t be earning $7.75MM again.  (Hat tip to MetsBlog).
  • Looking for an MLBTR reader forum?  I offer you our Facebook discussion board.

Octavio Dotel Signs With White Sox

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UPDATE, 1-21-08 at 2:29pm: According to Ken Rosenthal, this deal is done, though the AP won’t quite confirm it.  Sox Machine debates the pros and cons of the signing and ultimately doesn’t mind it.

UPDATE, 1-18-08 at 2:27pm: Scott Merkin at MLB.com talked to Dotel’s agent, who will only say that Dotel is in the mix.  No deal has been reached.  Apparently six teams are in "active discussions" about Dotel.

FROM 1-18-08 at 7:15am:

According to Impacto Deportivo, the White Sox have signed Octavio Dotel to a two-year, $11MM deal.  The 32 year-old reliever had a 4.11 ERA and 12.0 K/9 in 30.2 innings last year.

The White Sox have decided to buy a bullpen this year, always a risky move.  Dotel can still bring it; it’s just a question of health.  He dealt with shoulder and oblique strains last year, and had Tommy John in June of ’05.  The White Sox seem to have a good medical staff, and they’ll be crucial in making this signing pay off. 

Kubatko’s Latest: Jones, Dotel, Barajas

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Roch Kubatko of the Baltimore Sun has a blog update with plenty of new hot stove info.

  • Adam Jones never left Venezuela, and has been cleared to play in tonight’s winter league game.  Does this means something changed in the Erik Bedard talks?  We can only speculate.
  • The Orioles have been talking to the agents for free agents Octavio Dotel and Rod Barajas.  The Dotel talks were recent.  However, Kubatko says "late inning relief isn’t a top priority."  Maybe Andy MacPhail just wants to see if he can get Dotel on a nice one-year deal for $6MM or so.
  • MacPhail told Kubatko, "We haven’t closed any doors" in response to a question about supposedly dead talks with the Cubs.  Nothing seems imminent but perhaps the two sides are still discussing Brian Roberts after all.

Mets Pitching Plans

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Many readers have written me asking what the Mets are going to do to upgrade their starting rotation.  Matthew Cerrone as a man in the know, and he’s written a summary over at MetsBlog.

  • Cerrone senses nothing much cooking on the Johan Santana front, yet the Mets remain "oddly confident."
  • Cerrone believes the Mets will probably sign one rehabber – Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon.  He says reviews on Colon in the Dominican Winter League have been positive.  Omar Minaya knows Colon well, having traded the farm for him as GM of the Expos.  Garcia may be ready to pitch around June.  Coming off a frayed rotator cuff and labrum he may not contribute much in 2008.
  • Bullpen wise, Cerrone says Octavio Dotel is on the radar, especially if Aaron Heilman is traded.
  • There’s a lack of buzz with the Mets for Kyle Lohse, Livan Hernandez, and Joe Blanton currently.

Orioles, Pirates Eyeing Dotel

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UPDATE, 12-19-07 at 9:28am: The Bucs also have their eye on Dotel, but are wary of the price and years.

FROM 12-18-07 at 11:13am:

The Orioles don’t have a closer, and Octavio Dotel is the best of the remaining name-brand stoppers.  He’s at least better than Armando Benitez, Keith Foulke, and Bob Wickman (assuming he doesn’t retire).

Normally I wouldn’t support the idea of a non-contending team dropping $6-8MM annually for maybe two years on a guy like Dotel.  But Dayton Moore showed us last year that this strategy can net a decent player at the deadline (he picked up Kyle Davies).  However since Dotel will probably want two years, he’ll be riskier than he was for Moore.  The Royals handled Dotel pretty carefully and his value was high when they dealt him. 

Odds and Ends: Sabathia, Loretta, Patterson

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You know the drill, here’s a roundup of some rumor nuggets.  I’ll update the  post continuously throughout the day.

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