Octavio Dotel on the Mets?

Strange things happen on teams that are out of it. Veterans develop sore backs just in time for the team to try a rookie at their position. Optional surgeries suddenly become scheduled surgeries. And then there’s the age-old tradition of the veteran talking about playing somewhere else next year.

Maybe they are just taking advantage of the situation to look out for themselves. They’re still getting tape recorders stuck in their face after games, but the games don’t matter and next year is on everyone’s mind. So it’s natural that they may just speculate about where they might be next year.

So we have Octavio Dotel telling the Chicago Sun-Times that he approached the White Sox about an extension and was told he wasn’t in their plans. Amazingly, Dotel continued talking and created a wish list that started with the New York Mets and ended with the New York Yankees.

Would it be a good idea to bring Dotel back to the team that gave him his first shot in the majors? The answer, as always, is that it depends on price.

Dotel had a normal year, with his customary high strikeout rate (10.83 K/9) paired with a high walk rate (5.20 BB/9). Perhaps the best news, with Dotel’s injury history, is that he’s now pitched two straight years with over 60 innings and little injury concern. He’s been a little too hittable as he’s gotten older (1.44 WHIP this year and 54 hits in 62 innings), but he had an FIP under four in the tougher league and is still missing bats at 36 years old.

His fastball is still up around 93 MPH, paired mostly with an 81 MPH slider. The fastball used to be his bread and butter, and was an excellent pitch as recently as 2008. His slider, however, gained some movement and is the better pitch this year. This development could be seen either way: either he now has two strong pitches, or it’s worrisome that his main pitch is losing effectiveness.

Either way, if you add it all up and the package was worth $3.6 million this year and $2.8 million last year. It stands to reason that if he comes to the Mets for about $3 million a year (and not too many years), then he’s worth it.

The question then becomes, what to do with JJ Putz and his $1 million option?

We’ll tackle that topic shortly.

Tags: JJ Putz, Octavio Dotel