Bucs, Dotel reach agreement

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

The Pirates and Octavio Dotel have reached an agreement on a contract for 2010, a source confirmed to MLB.com on Thursday. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which is reporting that the contract includes an option for 2011, first reported the agreement late on Wednesday night.

The two sides have been close to an agreement for a while, though now only a physical remains before Dotel, 36, is added to the club’s 40-man roster. An official announcement is expected before the end of the day on Thursday. The Pirates will have to clear a spot on the roster for Dotel and are known to be trying to make a minor trade in order to do so.

Dotel, who made $6 million last year with the White Sox, is expected to compete for the club’s currently vacant closer’s role. Right-handers Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek are also candidates for the job. Dotel has 83 saves in his 11-year career, though he hasn’t closed consistently since the first half of 2007.

The right-hander spent the last two seasons in Chicago, where he posted a 3.32 ERA in 62 1/3 innings in 2009. Dotel struck out 75 and walked 36 as he pitched predominately in the seventh and eighth innings.

Dotel’s signing most likely wraps up general manager Neal Huntington’s pursuit of relievers on the free agent market, though others might still be added under Minor League deals. In the last two months, the Pirates have signed free agent relievers Dotel, Javier Lopez and Brendan Donnelly in order to stabilize what had been a bullpen laced with question marks.

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