15-year veteran reliever who finished career with Tigers dies in tragic accident

Former Detroit Tigers pitcher Octavio Dotel passed away in a tragic accident Tuesday morning, according to multiple reports out of the Dominican Republic. He was 51.

Dotel was one of several victims found buried in the rubble after the roof collapsed on the Jet Set nightclub during a concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Dotel was reportedly pulled out 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.

Details are still emerging as rescue efforts continue, but The Associated Press, citing local authorities, reported at least 44 people have died and 160 others were injured in the tragic accident. 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.

Octavio Dotel, 15-year veteran reliever who finished career with Tigers, dies 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, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals.

After winning a World Series title with St. Louis in 2011, Dotel signed a one-year deal with Detroit. He was part of the bullpen in the Tigers' run to the World Series in 2012, which they lost in four games to the San Francisco Giants. The Tigers picked up Dotel's option for the 2013 season, though he missed a decent part of the year due to right elbow inflammation.

Dotel announced his retirement from professional baseball in 2014 at age 40. He finished his Major League career with a 59-50 record, 3.78 ERA and 109 saves in 758 career games. No Major League player had ever worn as many uniforms during his career as Dotel did until pitcher Edwin Jackson broke his record in 2019.

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