Free-agent reliever Octavio Dotel will most likely choose a team today, and the Yankees felt they were "very much in it," a local source told The Post yesterday. Dotel, a hard-throwing righty coming off Tommy John surgery, received 11 offers this winter and piqued the interest of both the Yankees and Mets. The 32-year-old whittled down his choices to four teams in the last week, and the Yankees showed more substantial interest than the Mets, according to a source. Agent Dan Horwits indicated Dotel will most likely make his decision today after a couple teams exchanged final "parameters" with him yesterday. The Yankees have have already signed Kyle Farnsworth and Mike Myers and acquired lefty Ron Villone to address their bullpen needs. The Cardinals are believed to be a finalist for Dotel, even after they signed former Mets reliever Braden Looper to a three-year, $13.5 million pact on Thursday. Earlier this month, Dotel reportedly named the Mets, Dodgers, Astros and Twins as teams interested in him. Dotel underwent Tommy John surgery on June 6, and indications were the Yankees didn't want to wait until next June on him. However, Horwits said his recovery is ahead of schedule. "According to the doctors, sometime in April he'll be major-league ready," Horwits said.