Posted at 11:14 a.m., Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Baseball: Chisox sign reliever Dotel for 2-years, $11M
Advertiser Staff
CHICAGO — Right-hander Octavio Dotel and the Chicago White Sox agreed tpdau on an $11-million, two-year contract, bolstering a bullpen that ranked among the majors' worst last season.The 34-year-old Dotel spent last season with the Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves, but a shoulder injury limited him to only 33 appearances and 30 2-3 innings. He went 2-1 with a 4.11 ERA and was dealt from Kansas City to Atlanta at the trading deadline.
Dotel had reconstructive elbow surgery in 2005 while with Oakland and pitched for the New York Yankees the following year. He has 82 career saves in nine major league seasons.
He's joining a bullpen that blew 23 saves, had a 19-25 record and an ERA of 5.49. Upgrading was a major goal for general manager Ken Williams, who signed reliever Scott Linebrink to a $19 million, four-year contract in November. Now, the White Sox appear to have two right-handed setup men for Bobby Jenks, who had 41 and 40 saves, respectively, in the past two seasons.
Dotel will earn $5 million this year and $6 million in 2009.
Chicago also agreed to a $4.75 million, four-year contract with Cuban slugger Alexei Ramirez and designated pitcher David Aardsma for assignment.
The deal with Ramirez, who batted .335 with 20 homers and 68 RBIs last season in Cuba, had been in place for a month. An infielder and outfielder, he will receive a $500,000 signing bonus and be paid $950,000 this year and $1.1 million annually from 2009 to 2011.
Ramirez left Cuba in early September to join his wife and children in the Dominican Republic.
Aardsma, a right-hander, was 2-1 with a 6.40 ERA in 25 relief appearances with the White Sox last season.
