Working in a non-save situation with a five-run lead last night Jose Valverde served up a pair of home runs to the Diamondbacks before eventually finishing up a Mets victory. He now has a 6.14 ERA in seven appearances, including allowing three homers to the last eight batters he faced, but manager Terry Collins is sticking with the 36-year-old in the closer role.
Collins excused Valverde’s performance last night, telling Adam Rubin of ESPN New York that the non-save situation probably removed the right-hander’s adrenaline.
It’s not as if the Mets have any slam-dunk options to replace the injured Bobby Parnell as closer and if they thought Valverde was the best choice for the job a week ago his giving up a few homers shouldn’t really change that, but there’s little evidence to suggest that he’s still a late-inning caliber reliever at this point, adrenaline or not.
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