Reports: Ex-MLB reliever Octavio Dotel dies after nightclub roof collapses

Tony Paul, The Detroit News on Apr 8, 2025

Published in Baseball

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DETROIT — Former Tigers reliever Octavio Dotel, who pitched for Detroit in the 2012 World Series, has reportedly died after being trapped for hours in rubble from a collapsed roof at a nightclub in the Dominican Republic.

Dotel, 51, was rescued from the rubble late Tuesday morning but died while being transported to a hospital in the capital city of Santo Domingo, according to multiple news reports, including one from Dominican Republic-based baseball journalist Hector Gomez.

Early Tuesday morning, the roof of the popular Jet Set nightclub collapsed during a merengue concert, killing 58 and injuring more than 160, according to a report from the Associated Press. Also among those killed was Nelsy Cruz, a local politician and sister of former major league slugger Nelson Cruz.

Dotel, a right-hander, pitched for 13 different teams during his 15-year major league career ― a record number of teams for one player, until Edwin Jackson, also a former Tiger, pitched for 14 different teams.

Dotel signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Tigers before the 2012 season, and proved effective, with a 3.57 ERA in 57 appearances during the regular season. He struck out 62 in 58 innings. Dotel then made six appearances in the postseason that year, two in each round, including the World Series, and didn't allow a run.

Dotel's $3.5 million option for 2013 was picked up, but he suffered an elbow injury in April and didn't pitch the rest of the season. As it turned out, he never pitched in the majors again, officially retiring in October 2014, with a 3.78 ERA over 758 appearances, mostly out of the bullpen.

He also pitched for the New York Mets, who signed him as a 19-year-old out of the Dominican Republic, as well as the Houston Astros, Oakland A's, 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.

Dotel was part of a combined no-hitter for the Astros in 2003, and won a World Series with the Cardinals in 2011.