Jose Valverde has been pitching at Triple-A since the Tigers designated him for assignment and he passed through waivers unclaimed in late June, saving seven games with a 4.09 ERA and 10/6 K/BB ratio in 11 innings for Toledo.
And today the Tigers released him.
Shockingly, it turns out that being a “proven closer” doesn’t matter much when you’re no longer actually a good pitcher, although it took the Tigers a while to realize that while letting Valverde throw 19 innings with a 5.59 ERA in the ninth-inning role he ceased deserving long ago.
I suppose technically Valverde was right about only being in the minors for a short time. At age 35 he’ll no doubt have to settle for another minor-league deal if he decides to keep playing.
