Dick Allen Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 It looks like its true per Gonzalez By Mark Gonzales, 3:02 p.m. The Chicago White Sox could announce the signing of veteran reliever Octavio Dotel to a two-year contract within the next 24 hours. "We're just working out some details," agent Dan Horwits said Monday. Dotel, 34, will further fortify a bullpen that had a 5.47 ERA last season. The Sox already signed Scott Linebrink to a four-year, $19 million contract in November, and Dotel's deal is expected to be worth around $11 million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chisox2334 Posted January 21, 2008 Author Share Posted January 21, 2008 By Mark Gonzales, 3:02 p.m. The Chicago White Sox could announce the signing of veteran reliever Octavio Dotel to a two-year contract within the next 24 hours. "We're just working out some details," agent Dan Horwits said Monday. Dotel, 34, will further fortify a bullpen that had a 5.47 ERA last season. The Sox already signed Scott Linebrink to a four-year, $19 million contract in November, and Dotel's deal is expected to be worth around $11 million. The Sox have pursued Dotel in the past few years, only to have him sign with the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals. Horwits assured that his client is healthy after recovering from reconstructive right elbow surgery and a right shoulder strain in the past three years. Dotel's signing creates a longjam in the bullpen but gives the Sox more trade flexibility. Mike MacDougal will be guaranteed $4.95 million over the next two seasons, and the Sox hold a $3.75 million option for 2010. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9347 Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Signing the two best relievers in one off season is never a bad idea. If this team just had a legit #3 starter and a leadoff man I'd get pretty excited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Don't know if I'd call Dotel and Linebrink the 2 best relievers in the FA market (I think the Japanese guys could outperform then at least this season), but we've certainly upgraded nonetheless. And really after the debacle of last season we had to. This pen cost us at least 5-10 games in 2007. Fixing that, improving the offense should get this team back over .500 IMHO. It's the back end of the rotation that will determine where this team ultimately ends up though. On Dotel, obviously if he can stay healthy he'll probably be worth it. But it's a big IF, so hopefully they've done their homework. But the guy had good FIP numbers last season, so I'm probably more confident in him than Linebrink actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsideirish71 Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 QUOTE(daa84 @ Jan 21, 2008 -> 03:29 PM) i would certainly take bedard for jenks...id hate to lose bobby, but if you can get bedard, even with the loss of jenks, i think it would make us serious contenders Bedard is the type of player I could see us moving Bobby for. I would hate to lose Bobby but Bedard is a legit top of the tier type guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9347 Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.J. Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 1. Erik Bedard is worth so much more than Bobby Jenks, price tag included. 2. If put on the market tomorrow, Bobby Jenks would be the third best closer available (Joe Nathan, Huston Street). This move is to get a quality set-up man to take the ball from our quality middle reliever (Linebrink) and give it to our quality closer. If you think that's worth more than $5 million, then Dotel is a fine bet. It's a lot of money to spend on a relief pitcher but jesus, if Brett Tomko is worth $3 million then Dotel is certainly worth 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearSox Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 QUOTE(R.J. @ Jan 21, 2008 -> 04:49 PM) 1. Erik Bedard is worth so much more than Bobby Jenks, price tag included. 2. If put on the market tomorrow, Bobby Jenks would be the third best closer available (Joe Nathan, Huston Street). This move is to get a quality set-up man to take the ball from our quality middle reliever (Linebrink) and give it to our quality closer. If you think that's worth more than $5 million, then Dotel is a fine bet. It's a lot of money to spend on a relief pitcher but jesus, if Brett Tomko is worth $3 million then Dotel is certainly worth 5. You couldn't be farther from the truth... Street can't stay healthy and he has the worst stuff of the 3. Nathan, is probably better, but is soon to be a FA and is nearing his mid 30's. Jenks on the other hand is still pre-arb and has good stuff (great if he can get his fastball back up to the high 90's, but even in the mid 90's, he's shown he can get people out). Plus, he showed he can be a top closer in the league. It'd take more then Jenks, but not a whole lot more to get Bedard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Yeah the Tomko logic when comparing this contract is a pretty good one. Unfortunately that's just where the market is right now, and certain FA's are cashing in, and then some have overplayed their hand e.g Lohse and Eckstein. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kane0730 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 So who does this take off the 40 Man Roster??? Maybe another deal is looming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chisox2334 Posted January 22, 2008 Author Share Posted January 22, 2008 He will be a chicago white sox CHICAGO -- The White Sox took another step toward revamping their shaky 2007 bullpen by adding Octavio Dotel to the mix. The two-year, $11 million deal probably won't be announced until Tuesday or Wednesday, with a decision to be made by the team on removing a current player from the 40-man roster. "It's just about done with the White Sox," said Dan Horwits, Dotel's agent, of the deal on Monday afternoon. "We are just finishing up the last details, but I don't foresee them causing any problems. And then he'll be part of the White Sox." Dotel, who turned 34 this past Thanksgiving, has a 3.76 ERA with 82 saves during 428 career appearances. The hard-throwing right-hander has fanned 773 over 641 innings, including 41 strikeouts over 30 2/3 innings for the Royals and Braves in 2007. Being part of the American League Central for two-thirds of the previous campaign gives Dotel a strong working knowledge of the division, as well as the White Sox as a team. He chose the South Siders, even though he will be working as a setup man for closer Bobby Jenks. "He had places to go where he could close, and he had places to go where he was going to set up," said Horwits, echoing comments he made to MLB.com on Friday. "But he wanted to go to a team that he thought could win for the next couple of years, along with the comfort level of knowing certain players on the team or in management, such as [manager] Ozzie [Guillen] himself. "Those type of factors weighed out," Horwits added. Bringing on Dotel gives the White Sox a solid core of four veteran relievers at the back of the bullpen, with free agent Scott Linebrink joining Jenks and left-hander Matt Thornton. Mike MacDougal, whose 2007 struggles were part of the reason for offseason relief change, could figure in the bullpen equation but also could be shopped by the White Sox. During the final month of the 2007 season, pitching coach Don Cooper explained how he would like a couple of veteran arms added to the bullpen mix. Six combined years and $30 million later, the White Sox appear to have that upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3E8 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 QUOTE(kane0730 @ Jan 21, 2008 -> 09:07 PM) So who does this take off the 40 Man Roster??? Maybe another deal is looming. By my count we only have 39 now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 (edited) QUOTE(3E8 @ Jan 21, 2008 -> 06:28 PM) By my count we only have 39 now Dotel would be #40...but that also doesn't count Ramirez, but who knows exactly what his status will be until opening day hits. We also have a couple guys (Aardsma, Masset) on that roster who are out of options. Edited January 22, 2008 by Balta1701 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almagest Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 I really hope this is official. If Dotel can put up an ERA of around 4, with a K/9 of 9+ -- which his career seems to indicate he will, though his GB/FB ratio is worrisome -- he'll really help shore up our bullpen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Love it. I'm actually starting to get excited about this team, that scares me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RME JICO Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Finally. Hopefully this turns out to be a diamond in the rough signing, similar to Dye in 2005. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 21, 2008 -> 06:37 PM) Dotel would be #40...but that also doesn't count Ramirez, but who knows exactly what his status will be until opening day hits. We also have a couple guys (Aardsma, Masset) on that roster who are out of options. Actually, according to Merkin, I'm wrong, and the Sox will have to remove someone from the 40 man to sign Dotel, which is part of the holdup. But right now there's only 39 guys listed @ Whitesox.com on the 40 man, so the remaining person must be Ramirez unless I'm missing something badly. The White Sox took another step toward revamping their shaky 2007 bullpen by adding Octavio Dotel to the mix. The two-year, $11 million deal probably won't be announced until Tuesday or Wednesday, with a decision to be made by the team on removing a current player from the 40-man roster. "It's just about done with the White Sox," said Dan Horwits, Dotel's agent, of the deal on Monday afternoon. "We are just finishing up the last details, but I don't foresee them causing any problems. And then he'll be part of the White Sox." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxAce Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jan 21, 2008 -> 09:05 PM) Love it. I'm actually starting to get excited about this team, that scares me. Ditto. Still iffy on the starting pitching, but this team could actually could surprise alot of people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3E8 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Why does Ramirez have to go on the 40-man? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 QUOTE(3E8 @ Jan 21, 2008 -> 07:23 PM) Why does Ramirez have to go on the 40-man? I assume some contract clause must require it. Otherwise I can't figure out who else would be the 40th person on the 40 man, because after checking 3 times and pasting the entire roster into Excel, I can only find 39 names on the 40 man without him, and the MLB.com article clearly states that Dotel would be 41. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Critic Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 QUOTE(SoxAce @ Jan 21, 2008 -> 09:23 PM) Ditto. Still iffy on the starting pitching, but this team could actually could surprise a lot of people. They need to make at least one significant addition to the rotation before I get excited about the 2008 Sox. The bullpen seems to have been addressed well - better than last off-season, anyway. The offense should be better than OK with the addition of Cabrera and Swisher, although the leadoff spot is still a concern. But without AT LEAST three reliable starters, I just can't get too pumped up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 QUOTE(SoxAce @ Jan 21, 2008 -> 09:23 PM) Ditto. Still iffy on the starting pitching, but this team could actually could surprise alot of people. QUOTE(The Critic @ Jan 21, 2008 -> 09:27 PM) They need to make at least one significant addition to the rotation before I get excited about the 2008 Sox. The bullpen seems to have been addressed well - better than last off-season, anyway. The offense should be better than OK with the addition of Cabrera and Swisher, although the leadoff spot is still a concern. But without AT LEAST three reliable starters, I just can't get too pumped up. Yup, I'm in total agreement. I'm getting excited cause I think we can be competitive but the rotation definitely scares the crap out of me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jan 21, 2008 -> 07:29 PM) Yup, I'm in total agreement. I'm getting excited cause I think we can be competitive but the rotation definitely scares the crap out of me. I for one think the rotation will be better than you think. Key to that evaluation is the fact that I think we have between 6 and 7 people who can take those 3 spots that we're so concerned about, and I think that I've seen enough from several of these guys to believe that more than 50% of them should be able to put together good seasons. I understand being concerned, but I'll fire back with an air of some confidence in these guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxAce Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 QUOTE(The Critic @ Jan 21, 2008 -> 09:27 PM) The offense should be better than OK with the addition of Cabrera and Swisher, although the leadoff spot is still a concern. Don't forget Quentin who will be a HUGE wildcard. Better than the Pods/Erstad/Gonzalez/Owens (even though he's not "crap") we threw out there. He is a significant upgrade. But all in all... your 100% correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claydude14 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 I'm just excited to see anything other than the 07 team on the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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