The Chicago White Sox have signed right-hander Octavio Dotel to a 2-year, $11 million deal. On the heels of their November signing of Scott Linebrink, the White Sox appear to have adopted the same strategy that worked so well for the Orioles last winter.
Like Linebrink, Dotel was a dominant reliever several years ago. Now he’s mostly just hurt. Here’s what Dotel has done recently:

Octavio Dotel, 2005 – 2007

IP
ERA
H/9
BB/9
SO/9
HR/9

Statistics are courtesy of David Pinto’s Day by Day Database.

56
5.14
9.16
5.46
10.29
1.29

You’ll notice in the caption that this is Dotel’s record for the past 3 years. Last season he worked 30 2/3 innings, which was …read more

I’ve criticized the signings of J.C. Romero and Scott Linebrink this winter. Today at Hardball Times I attempt to answer the question of why teams keep overpaying these guys. Be sure also to check out Dave Studeman’s companion piece on the wisdom of long-term contracts.

I’ll have more to say on the trend of overpaying relievers in another venue, but for now it’s enough to know that 4 years for $19 million is an insane amount to give a guy like Scott Linebrink, which is what the Chicago White Sox will be paying for the right-hander’s services.
I happen to be a big fan of Linebrink. I saw his California League debut with San Jose back in ‘97, when he fanned 10 Stockton batters over 6 innings. I’ve followed him closely since then and was ecstatic when the Padres picked him up off waivers from Houston …read more