Now that he?s found a taker for Rafael Soriano on a heavily deferred deal, Scott Boras is trying to get teams interested in ex-Tigers closer Jose Valverde.
Valverde, 34, was 49-for-49 saving games for the Tigers in 2011 and 35-for-40 last season, but the postseason meltdown that saw him give up nine runs in 2 2/3 innings, combined with some declining peripherals from the regular season, has scared away seemingly every team this winter.
Boras knows he can?t use words to sweep away Valverde?s October struggles, but he does cite workload and fatigue as a possible reason for the sudden swoon. Counting the postseason, Valverde appeared in 81 games in 2011 and 75 last season.
?Closers normally have anywhere from 58 to 62 appearances and Valverde?s just had two years where he was used a lot,? Boras told George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press. ?It was a very unusual year this year, because he had so many non-save situations. He had like 31 of them, which normally they only have 17 or 18. So, it was a very unusual year.?
Those non-save situations are another thing working against Valverde this winter. He has a history ?of struggling without a save on the line, so contenders aren?t looking at him as a potential setup man.
Realistically, Valverde is going to have to settle for a cheap one-year deal with a chance to rebuild his value. If he?s willing to sign for $2 million or so, then maybe the Mets, Astros, Marlins or Twins could give him the chance to close. There?s certainly no reason to give him anything more than that, not with Brian Wilson, Francisco Rodriguez, Matt Capps, Jon Rauch and Francisco Cordero all sitting around waiting for phone calls, too.myocardial infarction What Is Labor Day jersey shore Pasquale Rotella Michael Clark Duncan michael jackson courtney stodden
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