Former Pirates reliever and 15-year vet Octavio Dotel passes away in tragic accident

The Pittsburgh Pirates tragically lost one of their former players Tuesday morning in a mass casualty event in the Dominican Republic.

Octavio Dotel, a right-handed relief pitcher who appeared in 41 games for the Pirates in 2010, died as a result of injuries he suffered following a roof collapse at Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Dotel was reportedly pulled out of the rubble alive after being trapped for nearly 11 hours, but Diario Libre was one of multiple sources to report that he later died on the way to the hospital. He was 51.

Details are still emerging as rescue efforts continue at the site of the tragic accident. The Associated Press, citing local authorities, reported that at least 44 people have died and 160 others were injured in the tragedy. Among those reported dead include Dotel and Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi and sister of seven-time MLB All-Star Nelson Cruz.

Former Pirates reliever and 15-year MLB veteran Octavio Dotel passes away in tragic accident

Dotel, a Santo Domingo native, first signed with the New York Mets as an amateur free agent in 1993. He made his MLB debut with the Mets six years later and would go on to play for 13 different teams over 15 MLB seasons, including the Houston Astros, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers.

Dotel signed with the Pirates on a one-year, $3.25 million deal ahead of the 2010 season. Dotel served as the Pirates' closer and finished his brief stint in Pittsburgh with a 2-2 record, a 4.28 ERA and 21 saves in 40 innings of work.

The Pirates traded Dotel to the Dodgers in July 2010, and the Dodgers flipped him to the Rockies two months later. Dotel originally set the MLB record for most teams pitched for when he retired, before Edwin Jackson broke that record in 2019.

Dotel finished his career with a 59-50 record, a 3.78 ERA and 1,143 strikeouts over 951 innings pitched in his Major League career.

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