Octavio Dotel, it was nice knowing you: Dodgers trade him across the hall to Rockies

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So what do you think about that Octavio Dotel trade now?

The Dodgers traded right-hander James McDonald and double-A outfielder Andre Lambo to the Pirates for Dotel at the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline.

They kept him for six weeks and then shipped him to the Colorado Rockies before Saturday’s game for a player to be named. Probably not one the quality of McDonald.

Octavio Dotel, we barely knew ye.

Dotel just had to walk down the hall at Dodger Stadium and enter the visitors’ clubhouse, where the Rockies were preparing to play the Dodgers.

‘Shortest trip to Colorado he’ll ever make,’ said Dodgers lameduck Manager Joe Torre.

Dotel had been the closer for the Pirates this season, saving 21 of 26 games. With the Dodgers, he was so-so and never really locked into a specific role.

Dotel, 36, was a short-term answer from the beginning with L.A. He ultimately appeared in 19 games for the Dodgers, going 1-1 with one save and a 3.38 earned-run average.

McDonald, 25, was immediately put into the rotation for the Pirates, where he’s gone 3-4 with a 3.49 ERA in eight starts.

The Dodgers’ two-time minor league player of the year started a total of five games for the Dodgers the last two seasons. He entered last season as their fifth starter, going 1-1 with an 8.78 ERA before coming out of the bullpen for the rest of the season.

Lambo finished this season with the Pirates’ double-A Altoona team, hitting .275 with two home runs and 10 RBIs in 102 at-bats.

Oh, there was one other thing the Dodgers got from Pittsburgh in the deal: $500,000.

-- Steve Dilbeck