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Octavio Dotel

Rockies Acquire Octavio Dotel

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The Dodgers have traded Octavio Dotel to the Rockies for a player to be named later, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.  The two sides will split Dotel's remaining salary and the buyout for his 2011 option, leaving Colorado on the hook for $250K (Twitter link).  Since the Rockies are playing the Dodgers in L.A. today, Dotel will simply change locker rooms.

Dotel came to the Dodgers at the deadline in exchange for pitcher James MacDonald and Andrew Lambo as they looked to make a postseason push.  The 36-year-old registered a 3.38 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 across a 19-game span in which the club fell out of playoff contention.

The contract that Dotel signed with the Pirates last winter included a $4.5MM club option for 2011. However, when Pittsburgh traded the veteran reliever to the Dodgers, the option became mutual. Renck (Twitter link) doesn't expect the Rockies to exercise the option, even with some money coming off their books this offseason.

Having been traded after August 31st, Dotel will not be eligible for the postseason.  The Rockies could certainly use the help however as they trail the Padres by 1.5 games in the NL West and the Braves by 2.5 games in the Wild Card chase.

Dodgers Acquire Octavio Dotel

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The Dodgers acquired reliever Octavio Dotel and $500K from the Pirates today for pitcher James McDonald and outfielder Andrew Lambo.  Dotel will move to a setup role for the Dodgers after saving 21 games for the Pirates.  Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan should get a shot to close games in Pittsburgh now.

The 36-year-old Dotel may be a rental for Los Angeles, as his $4.5MM club option for 2011 became mutual upon the trade.  Including the buyout on that option, Dotel has $1.65MM remaining on his contract.  Eddie Bajek's latest Elias rankings have Dotel as a Type B free agent, though an arbitration offer from the Dodgers is no sure thing.  Dotel has a 4.28 ERA, 10.8 K/9, and 3.8 BB/9 on the season with five home runs allowed in 40 innings, though he's been better since May.  One red flag is that Dotel has brutal control against lefties, but Hong-Chih Kuo is more than capable of handling those batters.

McDonald, 25, has fallen out of favor since being voted the organization's minor league pitcher of the year in '07 and '08.  He opened the '09 season as the Dodgers' fifth starter, but was out of the rotation a month later.  This year he's dealt with a hamstring injury while compiling a 4.41 ERA, 8.1 K/9, and 3.4 BB/9 in twelve Triple A starts.  It wasn't long ago that Baseball America projected McDonald as a No. 3 starter or late-inning reliever, and he'll have plenty of opportunities in Pittsburgh. 

Lambo, meanwhile, was slapped with a 50-game suspension in May for violating baseball's drug policy.  BA ranked him seventh among Dodgers prospects before the season.  They profile him as a gap hitter who may grow into his power, but label him a substandard outfielder.  Lambo still hasn't done much in Double A.

The Pirates haven't hit on too many of these types of players yet, but these gambles make more sense than keeping Dotel around.

Twitter Rumors: Lowell, Ross, Dotel, Heilman

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A home for today's random Twitter rumors…

Stark On Phillies, Indians, Ross, Athletics

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Today's rumblings from ESPN's Jayson Stark…

  • Shane Victorino's oblique injury yesterday appears to close the door on a Jayson Werth trade.  MLB.com's Todd Zolecki seems to agree, but unlike Stark he feels that the Phils "remain a top contender" for Roy Oswalt.  More on Oswalt here.
  • Stark writes of indications the Phillies have turned to starters such as Jake Westbrook and Fausto Carmona and relief options like Octavio Dotel. Jon Heyman of SI.com notes that the Indians are talking trades with the Phils (Twitter link).
  • Speaking of the Indians, Stark senses they do want to move money off the books.
  • The Marlins have told teams they could deal Cody Ross in August if they fall out of contention, but they'd have to match up only with the team that wins the claim.
  • The Braves maintain strong interest in Josh Willingham, though there's a good chance they stand pat.  Willingham is just one of many Nationals veterans generating interest, GM Mike Rizzo told ESPN 980.
  • Athletics assistant GM David Forst told Stark "it would have to be an over-the-top deal for us to even consider it" in regard to trading relievers such as Michael Wuertz, Craig Breslow, and Brad Ziegler.

Relief Rumors: Capps, Jays, Dotel

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Bullpen help is always in great demand as the deadline approaches, and 2010 is no exception. With all of the relief rumors circulating today, let's take a look at some of them:

  • Earlier today, we heard that the competition for Scott Downs was heating up, but that some executives think the Jays are asking too much. Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Jays are asking a lot for all three of their available relievers — Downs, Kevin Gregg, and Jason Frasor. The Dodgers inquired but are now looking elsewhere as a result of those demands.
  • Buster Olney has heard that several executives think the Nationals will trade Matt Capps. The Washington closer is having a strong rebound season, but makes $3.5MM and will be in line for a large raise through arbitration prior to the 2011 campaign. With the strong results seen from Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen this year, the Nats have quality in-house options to replace Capps. GM Mike Rizzo recently said he's not shopping Capps, but he's getting lots of calls.
  • Troy Renck of the Denver Post writes that the Rockies had a scout at Octavio Dotel's last outing, but they're concerned about his durability and switching from a closer to setup role. According to Renck, teams are monitoring the Pirates to see if they'd make Evan Meek or Joel Hanrahan available as well.

Odds & Ends: Washburn, A’s, Myers, Mattingly

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Links for Thursday, after somebody finally beat the Cardinals…

Crasnick On The Bullpen Market

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ESPN's Jerry Crasnick does a nice job profiling the underwhelming market for relievers.  The Red Sox, Tigers, Angels, Dodgers, Yankees, Rays, Phillies, and Twins could be looking to make an acquisition.  A few tidbits…

  • The Astros "will gladly talk about Brandon Lyon, but aren't so interested in discussing Matt Lindstrom."  Lyon is still owed $12.48MM through 2012.
  • Crasnick points out that Octavio Dotel is not a pitcher you want facing lefties.  How about D.J. Carrasco?  He's quietly having another decent year, he's cheap, and he's under team control through 2012.  Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweeted yesterday that at least five teams have inquired.
  • Crasnick finds "the consensus" to be that Mariners closer David Aardsma will be dealt before the deadline.  The Tigers have been linked to the hard-throwing righty, whose ERA is up several runs this year despite his strikeout and walk rates remaining stable.  Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times feels the Mariners would need their socks knocked off to move Aardsma. 
  • Chad Qualls, Clay Hensley, and most of the Brewers' and Royals' pens also merit consideration as trade bait.

Mets Considering Dotel, Downs

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The Mets have discussed relievers Octavio Dotel and Scott Downs, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  John Harper of the New York Daily News reported yesterday that the Mets scouted Downs and Kevin Gregg over the weekend.  The Mets agreed to terms with free agent reliever Chad Cordero earlier today.

The FOX writers say the Mets are now more focused on relievers than starters.  While they maintain interest in Ted Lilly, they've cooled on Jake Westbrook, Ben Sheets, and Brett Myers.  Speaking of Myers, ESPN's Adam Rubin learned that the Mets and Astros have had very little conversation.

Dotel came up through the Mets' system more than a decade ago and was traded in December of '99 to the Astros with Kyle Kessel and Roger Cedeno for Derek Bell and Mike Hampton.  That deal was engineered by Steve Phillips and Gerry Hunsicker back when Dotel was a starter.  If Hunsicker had been able to give the Yankees a window to negotiate with Hampton before his walk year, imagine how New York baseball history would've been altered. 

This year as the Pirates' closer Dotel sports a 4.62 ERA, 10.9 K/9, and 4.1 BB/9 in 37 innings, with five home runs allowed and 20 saves in 25 attempts.  He has a 2.60 ERA since May 4th.  Still, as ESPN's Jerry Crasnick implies, Dotel's stats suggest he should be a righty specialist.  By the way, Dotel's 2011 club option becomes mutual if he's traded. 

Morosi noted on Twitter last night that the Pirates are also getting calls on Joel Hanrahan, "but the price remains very high."  Armed with a 95.6 mph fastball, Hanrahan has 56 strikeouts in 40.6 innings.  His 12.39 K/9 ranks behind only Carlos Marmol, Billy Wagner, and Brian Wilson in the National League.

Rockies Looking To Add Before Deadline

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The Rockies are seeking to upgrade their bullpen, starting rotation, and corner infield situation, sources tell Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post.

Colorado seems to be fond of Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, but as we learned earlier today, the Marlins don't seem inclined to deal the two-time All-Star.  Further putting the kibosh on the possibility of him ending up in Colorado, Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies says (via Twitter) that the club hasn't been in pursuit of Uggla since last winter.

The club likes Uggla's teammate, Jorge Cantu, and they're keeping an eye on Baltimore's Ty Wigginton.  The Rockies could make a move for a rental prior to the trade deadline and make a bigger splash heading into the August 31st waiver deadline.

Meanwhile, the Rockies are looking for relief help.  The club has interest in Toronto's Kevin Gregg and Pittsburgh's Octavio Dotel.  However, it will be difficult for Colorado to land either player.  Gregg's friendly contract option this offseason gives his club the option of picking him up for $4.5MM in 2011 or keeping him through 2012 for $8.75MM.  Renck feels that Dotel could be hard to pry away from the Pirates as he is their only closer, but keep in mind that Evan Meek has been one of the game's best relievers (1.05 ERA, 8.5 K/9, 2.5 BB/9) in a set-up capacity and could probably fill the role despite his lack of experience.  Still, Renck feels Colorado will look for a rebound candidate instead.

The Rockies would like to upgrade their rotation, but they're not going to overspend for a "fourth-starter type".  Houston ace Roy Oswalt won't waive his no trade clause to come to Colorado, but Arizona's Dan Haren could be a possibility.  However, Haren's price could be too high for the club.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Dunn, Oswalt, Haren

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In his latest Full Count video at FOX Sports, Ken Rosenthal looks at possible next moves for the Angels, Yankees, Mets, and White Sox. Let's check out the highlights….

  • The Angels are expected to respond in some form to the Rangers' acquisition of Cliff Lee, with a corner infield bat still their top priority. While Rosenthal agrees that the Halos would like a third baseman who's under team control past this season, he thinks they could look at a rental for first base, since Kendry Morales will be back next spring.
  • Besides Adam Dunn, Rosenthal names Jose Bautista, Adam LaRoche, Ty Wigginton, and Jorge Cantu as potential fits for the Angels, suggesting Bautista makes the most sense. Rosenthal also speculates that, if their respective teams made them available, Mark Reynolds and Casey McGehee would intrigue the defending AL West champs.
  • Lee was the only starting pitcher the Yankees really coveted, so don't expect them to pursue players like Roy Oswalt or Dan Haren now that they missed out on the left-hander.
  • Rosenthal expresses skepticism that Oswalt or Haren will get dealt at all. Houston doesn't appear willing to take on enough of their ace's contract, while the D'Backs would need to be "blown away" to trade Haren.
  • The Mets' search for pitching has them looking at Jake Westbrook and a handful of other arms. Rosenthal notes that the team has had interest in Octavio Dotel as a free agent in the past, and that some members of the Mets' organization are "wary" of Ted Lilly.
  • The White Sox made a run at Cliff Lee, but never got close to landing him. Although a left-handed bat remains their biggest need, there aren't many on the market who appeal to them besides Dunn, whose price tag is "exorbitant." They might settle for acquiring a right-handed hitter, and could also pursue another starter if Daniel Hudson struggles.
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