(Photo from Yahoo! Sports)
In case you didn’t hear, the Tigers have officially signed Jose Valverde to a major-league deal, purchasing his contract from the Lakeland Flying Tigers on Tuesday. With the signing of Valverde comes some very large (and perhaps unfair) expectations for the Tigers closer.To put it nicely, Valverde struggled during the 2012 postseason, going 0-1 with an ERA of 30.38. Not only did his last few outings almost prevent the Detroit Tigers from advancing to the World Series last year, but it left fans with a very bitter taste in their mouth.
When the Tigers decided to sign Valverde to a minor-league contract on April 4th, fans were understandably frustrated and disappointed. What fans forget to remember is that Valverde is still one of the most proven closers in baseball. In fact, since 2007, no pitcher has recorded more saves than Papa Grande.
Without having a designated closer, the Tigers already found a way to blow three out of six late-inning leads this year, not good news for a team that many people in baseball expect to once again compete for the World Series. The bullpen quickly became a glaring weakness for the Tigers and General Manager Dave Dombrowski did not hesitate to act.
Is there a reason to be concerned about Valverde? Of course. In the last few years, not only has Valverde’s velocity started to decline, but he’s also thrown a higher percentage of fastballs than he ever has before. Will that trend continue or will fans see the same Valverde who successfully saved all 49 of his save opportunities in 2011? It’s nearly impossible to know for sure, so Detroit fans will have to wait and see.
For now Valverde is the best option the Tigers have and could give the bullpen the boost they need to finally get things back on track.
