For $3M, I don’t particularly like it, given Meek and Hanrahan. Probably better than Capps, but it’s meh as far as I’m concerned, at this point.

Don’t know much about Dotel though, beyond a glance over his stats

He’s a cool guy – nice to see him get a scoop.

Dotel’s a little walk-happy, which might make some people here crazy, but on the whole he’s a solid pitcher, and he’d be a decent value at $3M (depending on the incentives). I freaked out a little when I saw the report because I remembered that he was a Type A, but the Sox didn’t offer him arbitration, so he’s free and clear at this point.

Not sure why someone like Kevin Gregg (85 career saves) would qualify as a proven closer in the report, while Dotel (83 career saves) would not.

CHONE: 3.74 ERA, 1.28 WHIP. 53 IP, 62 K, 25 BB, 6 HR.
ZiPS: 4.12 ERA, 1.41 WHIP. 54 2/3 IP, 63 K, 28 BB, 8 HR. 110 ERA+.

[The ZiPS has him pitching for the White Sox in the Cell. The raw numbers would probably come down a bit in our park/league context.]

Dotel would be a good get. As far as “the closer’s job”, I don’t think Neal really cares whether Dotel pitches the 9th and Hanrahan pitches the 8th or vice versa…he doesn’t seem to place a lot of value on saves as a way of measuring relief pitcher performance.

Offering Dotel the closer’s job just makes our offer a little stronger compared to another team offering a similar deal to set up.

This is almost a trade of Capps for Dotel, and we’ve basically traded 2 years of control for $300,000. Not a fan.

Where does the $3M figure come from? I’d think Dotel would cost a bit more and would require two years. I don’t see what difference it would make if they signed Dotel for two years or retained Capps with two years of control left. Dotel is much older, but relievers seem generally to last pretty well into their late 30s. Given what he’s done the last two years in comparison to Capps, he’s certainly a much better bet than Capps to pitch well.

…but does not, at this point, have confirmation of a formal offer (link).

that this is an offer, not a done deal. But, my opinion is that if he signs I am actually pretty pleased with a bullpen of Hanrahan, Dotel, Meek, Jacksona and Lopez pitching the high leverage innings. Sure, it would be nice to add another quality name to the mix but I have high expectations for Meek, Hanrahan and Lopez and think Dotel adds nicely to the mix.

It also presents a variety of looks and offers different matchup opportunites. Nice week for NH in my opinion. Three names added for $1.5-2 more than we would have paid Capps. Good stuff.

Isn’t the answer but as a seventh inning guy and a sinker ball pitcher he adds another mix to the pen. While I don’t think he is going to dominate, I think he can end up being useful.

Dejan is now saying the Pirates have not made an offer.

Maybe, just maybe the Pirates are being smart. Could it be? Possibly. Maybe they are telling both Dotel and Gregg that “if you sign with us, you will have a chance to close.” Maybe they are also telling Hanrahan and Meek they may have a chance to close. And maybe, they are not lying about it. We’ve talked about it before…about using your best reliever in the most important part of the game. Maybe that’s in the 7th inning, maybe it’s the eighth? We already know JR loves to play mix and match with the pen, so why not go back to the days of bringing in the guy best suited for whatever match up you have when you need to go to the pen. Let’s look at a pen made up of Dotel, Gregg, Hanrahan, Meek and Ja.Lopez. Suddenly, that doesn’t look too bad (plus two more guys one of which is likely to be Hart or McCutchen and then either Steven Jackson or maybe a second lefty.) Who closes? They all do. At least those main 5 guys do. The beauty of that is when it comes time for Hanrahan or Meek to cash in on arbitration, neither of them have a 20 save season. You don’t have the mystery Matt Capps factor to worry about like this year. Personally, I like it. It’s not like we are contending this season anyway. And if anything, this is a bullpen that I think we earn the confidence of the young starters on this team and that is something they really need.