Dotel Still Has Fantasy Value

August 1, 2007 @ 16:00:00

By Eliott Wolbrom
Edited by Ryan Dodson

As the trading deadline is now behind us, fantasy owners find themselves taking stock of the results; to see where and how their team can benefit from any of the moves. With the Kansas City Royals sending closer Octavio Dotel to the Atlanta Braves for starter Kyle Davies, the question is: should Dotel be dropped, traded or traded for? In his new role with the Braves, Dotel will primarily serve as a setup man to Atlanta Braves closer Bob Wickman. The impending concern with Wickman is essentially how long he will remain their closer. As the Braves make a push for the National League East; with even the slightest bit of trouble from Wickman, the Braves will waste no time in making a change in their bullpen, escalating Dotel or Braves reliever Rafael Soriano to the closing role. Wickman has blown two of his last five save chances and is seemingly showing signs that his 38-year-old body is catching up to him. Further, he has compiled high ERAs of 6.52 in June and 4.35 in July.

Since Dotel's return from the oblique injury he has been more than amicable, posting an 11.2 K/9 by striking out 29 batters in only 23 innings and converting 11 of 14 save opportunities. In 2004 Dotel was one of the most dominating relievers in baseball, striking out 145 batters in only 105 innings with the Houston Astros. However, as with so many elite players in baseball, injury and lack of continuity has plagued Dotel to the point where he has never been able to fully blossom into elite status.

The problem for those owners either sitting with Dotel or debating making a move for him is that there are too many ambiguous variables needed to fall into place for him to be the Braves closer this season. Firstly, Wickman needs to show the Braves that he is unreliable down the stretch. Next, Dotel will need to compete with Soriano for save chances. When Wickman landed on the DL in early May, Soriano took over as the closer and converted four straight save opportunities. While Dotel would likely become the closer over Soriano should Wickman cave in, Dotel's value has declined considerably to the point where if you have an extra bench spot on your roster, he would be a decent source of strikeouts but nothing more. If somehow he is on waivers he would be worth adding to a deep bench, or if you could pry Dotel away from an owner for close to nothing, it may pay off towards the end of August. If your league is set deep enough, whereby middle relievers can help you with holds, his holds, WHIP and strikeouts may also be beneficial.

If you are currently sitting with Dotel, look into selling him, surely emphasizing the points that were made above to your opponents in your sales pitch. There are other options to help fill your roster, should you want to dump Dotel. Ironically, the trades of two of the best relief pitchers in baseball (Dotel and Boston Red Sox pitcher Eric Gagne) resulted in them losing their closing jobs, but have also created new openings for two new closers in the American League. One player to explore is Texas Rangers relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit. With Gagne's departure to the Red Sox and pitcher Akinori Otsuka sitting on the DL (reportedly a month away from service), Benoit, who has posted a respectable 2.08 ERA with two wins in July, will likely see more save opportunities than most other pitchers on waivers. He's available in 75 percent of leagues polled. C.J. Wilson got the first save chance though, so he's an option, too. He's available in 97 percent of leagues polled.

The other is Kansas City Royals reliever Joakim Soria, who became the team's closer with the Dotel trade and has fantastic stuff with 10 saves, a 2.44 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings. Soria is a great plug-in, but his standing with the awful Royals may not give him enough opportunities. He's also owned in almost 77 percent of leagues polled, so the chance to get him has likely passed. 

KFFLians are saying....

Comment

 

---

What do you think? We want to hear from you!

Name: E-mail: Please, enter the number that you see

Comment Guidelines

Eliott Wolbrom
Eliott has been with KFFL since 2007.

Talk Sports 24/7!
KFFL Sports Forums: Over 24,000 strong and growing!

One Day FREE Fantasy Contest - $350 in cash prizes (05/24)
Fantasy Closer Hot Seat: Addison Reed, J.J. Putz, Ernesto Frieri, more (05/24)
Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market: Brian Roberts seeing the light at the end of the rehab tunnel (05/24)
Fantasy baseball closer depth charts - AL (05/24)
Fantasy baseball closer depth charts - NL (05/24)
Fantasy baseball players in the news (05/24)
Fantasy football players in the news (05/24)
Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market: Dee Gordon's problems at bat (05/23)
Fantasy Baseball Player Prospecting: Will Smith, Yordano Ventura, Wil Myers, more (05/23)
Fantasy Baseball Roundtable: How trade talks develop (05/23)