Report: Tigers get Valverde for $14M(great signing)

[kellmellus50]

But somewhere between 99 and 100 percent lies the probability Valverde has agreed to a two-year contract, with a $9 million option for a third. Yahoo! Sports first reported the deal on Thursday.

Sources say it's done.

The Tigers say ... nothing.

But that's how these things go.

Now is it as good a deal for the Tigers as it is for the 30-year-old right-hander who will be their new closer?

The answer is a resounding "yes" -- if Valverde is as good the next three years as he was the last three. In the last three years, the first with Arizona and the last two with Houston, Valverde saved 116 games with a 2.84 ERA and has 217 strikeouts in 190 1/3 innings.

The Tigers announced Thursday they've signed 17 players to minor-league contracts. Some of the names were familiar, such as catcher Mike Rabelo, a catcher they traded to the Florida Marlins in the Miguel Cabrera deal.



Read more: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100114 ... z0cdfgXmdU


The Tigers like power arms. Well, this is a power arm.

Not only that, but he fills a gaping hole. With Fernando Rodney gone, the Tigers didn't have an experienced closer -- and Valverde is one of the best.

In 2007, he saved 47 games. Two years ago, he saved 44. In his final 24 appearances last season, Valverde had a 1.01 ERA.

This guy brings it.
Read more: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100114 ... z0cdf48XsZ

[ajaX82]

No doubt he is a really good closer. But 2 year, 14 million is a bit pricey. And losing the first rounder for him hurts.

But to have a really good closer is quite nice

[kellmellus50]

Tigers may try to sign left-handed veteran Johnny Damon
By Scott Warheit
January 14, 2010, 7:31PM
AP PhotoThe Tigers have reportedly expressed interest in free-agent outfielder Johnny Damon.During the Major League Baseball winter meetings, the Detroit Tigers could not shed payroll fast enough.

Just a few months later, and the Detroit Tigers seemingly are in a buying mood. Quite the turnaround for a team that couldn't afford to keep fan favorite Curtis Granderson.

But, after signing closer Jose Valverde to what could be a three-year, $23 million deal, the Tigers may look to add another veteran to their roster, according to SI.com's Jon Heyman:
Tigers could be in play for Damon, who hits .363, slugs .550 and has a .961 OPS at pitcher-friendly Comerica Park.

The "Damon" Heyman referenced is, of course, Johnny Damon, whose tenure with the Yankees came to an end thanks to, wait for it, the arrival of Curtis Granderson.

Damon, 36, could play left field for the Tigers, shifting Carlos Guillen to designated hitter. He also is a left-handed bat in a lineup void of lefties.

He hit .282 with 24 home runs and 12 stolen bases for the Yankees last season.

[TSE]

This was my post from another forum regarding Valverde before the signing...

I don’t want him at all. I want to use that money as juice to facilitate trades to reorganize our hitting lineup for the future. I just say NO to the player, and YES to cleaning up our mess, investing into the future, and retuning our franchise’s overall design such that it operates as an assembly machine that produces wins. In other words, Valverde is a good player, but the time and place for him isn’t now and in Detroit.

[RustInPeace]

Shoulda targeted Tejada.

[kellmellus50]

One minute tigers are shedding payroll now their adding payroll ? i wonder if their shifting gears and are now shooting for the playoffs next year?

So, Valverde got the money and years Dombrowski was not prepared to give Rodney or Lyon.

And he deserves it.

Only three players have more than the 116 saves Valverde accumulated over the past three seasons. They are Francisco Rodriguez (137), Joe Nathan (123) and former Tiger Francisco Cordero (117). Jonathan Papelbon also had 116 saves over that time.

Valverde, 30, twice led the National League in saves, with 47 in 2007 as an All-Star for the Arizona Diamondbacks and 44 in 2008 for the Houston Astros. He was limited to 25 saves with the Astros last season, when a strained right calf cost him a month and a half.

While Rodney was efficient last season, he does not have the track record of Valverde, who has 167 career saves to rank 12th among active pitchers.

The Tigers got in Valverde an outstanding pitcher. As a National League scout told me earlier this week, he's one of the few pitchers around who can come into the ninth, throw 15 consecutive fastballs, and get three quick outs.
Improvement?
The statistics of the Tigers closer last season, Fernando Rodney, and this season's, Jose Valverde

Rodney Valverde
Wins 2 ......,,4
Losses 5.... ,2
ERA 4.40.... 2.33
Saves 37..... 25
Blown saves 1 4
Innings 75.2 54
Hits 70...... 40
ER 37 .........14
BB 41......... 21
SO 61........ 56

Read more: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100115 ... z0cgQ51VMw
Read more: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100114 ... z0ceUHnKUv

[Liqourish]

Valverde is a very good closer, that's not the issue. The issue is we traded away a fan favorite in Grandy because our payroll was too high, and then we turn right around and hand a large contract (and lose a 1st round pick) to sign a closing pitcher.

[TSE]

Shoulda targeted Tejada.

Well Tejada would have been even more money, but he sure would have made the biggest impact that any acquisition could have due to the severe weakness we have in that key spot of the team. Although if it were up to me I can assure you that I'm walking away with Hanley Ramirez. I will find a way to make that trade that will work for our organization at a profit. It's a done deal.

[kellmellus50]

I like this deal.. IF we can get to the ninth with the lead, we know we should win this. with rodney we always rolled the dice.. and most of the time.. we won.. but boy.. did we ever hope.

the back end of this pen is going to be lights out

7 th.. ni or coke
8 th zumaya or perry
9 valverde... game over
so all we need is our starters to get to the 7th.
and verlander ,porcello, max s. those 3 should go past 7th.. bonderman and gallarga. should get to the 6th..

pitching wise . we are solid.

We FINALLY have a top-end closer for our pen

Finally we have that shut-down closer that every other team in the AL central has.

White Sox: Jenks
Twins: Nathan
Tigers: Valverde
Royals: Soria
Indians: Wood.

They key is to get through this year. This is clearly a move that gives us a better chance of winning a weak division and putting ourselves in position to acquire some big hit sticks in next years FA when 21 MILLION comes off the books.

[TSE]

The problem I have is that anything we will do will have money come off the books from expiring players like Ordonez and Guillen and others next year and in years after. BUT, I don't want to WAIT. I want to burn the usage time that those guys have and let some team USE that time. So while we GET THROUGH this year, we get payment for the usage time of THIS year. That payment can offset the money, or it can be used to get a Hanley Ramirez in some form of a trade. We need to take our financial licks in advance and send our usable players AND money that is already sunk, as assets to other teams that will give us a young player to bring us that one extra notch closer to the right transformation. And we could actually get 2 players closer and even 3 in a wacky sense where enough things fall into our lap such as Illitch willing to send a boatload of money as a one time investment to make a major team redesign for the future, kind of like a balloon payment in exchange for a new mortgage deal with a different structure altogether.

The best thing the Tigers could possibly do is make this balloon payment TODAY.