Tigers in on Jose Valverde bidding?

Damn good question.

Sure, I’d be happy to have Valverde. But after spewing all the gloom and doom about payroll and revenue, why the sudden change of heart? The Tigers suddenly want to spend big money on a closer, when there are some intriguing (also younger and cheaper) in-house candidates?

The Tigers off season gets curiouser by the day.

I don’t want to read about Valverde signing with the Tigers tomorrow.

That is all.

This doesn’t make much sense. It would just give more credence to the thought that this team has no idea which direction it’s going.

For that reason, I would guess it’s smoke.

I would take anything DD says with a grain of salt, also… he’s not going to tell us the truth about what they are doing behind closed doors. It’s probably best for the negotiations not to do so, especially when other teams are at play.

DD said in November:

“I can assure you 100 percent that we do not have any kind of fire sale, or salary dump, or whatever you might call it, taking place,” he said.

Well, we’ve heard the Granderson and Jackson deal described as a ‘salary dump,’ so either DD was straight up lying, had a fairly drastic change of heart, or felt the trade was for reasons other than money. Either way, his 100% comment was misleading.

Plus a DD quote later in that same Beck article quoted in this tells me that he’s willing to sign Valverde if it’s going to make the team better this year (and it sounds like he’s really trying to gauge how ready Zoom will be):

“At this point, we’re still open-minded,” Dombrowski said. “If something happens [that] we feel can help us, we’ll do that.”

Any idea how much Valverde is seeking/being offered by these 4 teams? I know he won’t be getting the $8 mil he made last year from the D-Backs or Tags, but that’s fairly obvious.

One thing is for sure, he’d be the polar opposite of Rodney in terms of behavior after closing out a game (Rodney: chill man…. & Valverde: seizure fist pumps)

Rodney got a ridiculous contract, Lyon got a ridiculous contract, Valverde is probably expecting one as well.

Keep the closer internal.

because the bullpen is already stocked. If we add another reliever (albeit a legitimate closer), it’s going to cost the guy’s salary plus a roster spot (and in this case, a first round pick to boot). I vote pass.

Via his tweet: Source seconds Yahoo report of four offers on Valverde. Tigers apparently interested.

His glasses make him look like a Latin Rick Vaughn.

While that’s incredibly badass, it’s not worth a) the money, b) the roster spot, c) the first-round draft pick, d) the bullpen prospect(s) that get shafted because of this decision. Pass.

He never has a coherent plan. He’ll do one thing (trade away granderson and jackson for younger/cheaper pieces) and then immediately turn around and do the exact opposite. This is why I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or two really good signings by us next offseason and one or two boneheaded moves as well.

So I would love to see Valverde signed… my only hesitation is losing the pick. The thing about supplementary picks though, is if the player you signed remains good, you eventually get your pick back if/when he moves on to another team.

The reason I don’t really care about the money is, at this point, I don’t see the Tigers buying anything other than closer or lefty DH. So if it’s between Ilitch keeping more money or Valverde getting paid, let’s bring in Valverde!

I love the caption you put on the photo. :)

for a position player or starting pitcher being signed for four or more years. It’s too much to give up for, at most, a two-year reliever.

Why pay for something you already have a bunch of, just to try and quiet down those whispers of : we need an experienced closer? Cripes…

A first round draft pick provides, on average, around $5 million in value to a club. So, whatever we give Valverde, if he were to sign in Detroit, would automatically need $5 mil more tacked on to it.