American League Closer Update: Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers have signed their former cloiser, Jose Valverde to a minor league deal according to a series of tweets from Patrick Reusse of ESPN Radio.

Patrick Reusse ‏@1500ESPN_Reusse 1h

Jose Valverde has signed a minor-league contract w/ the Tigers.

Patrick Reusse ‏@1500ESPN_Reusse 1h

Dave Dombrowski said Papa Grande will do some throwing in Lakeland, then (presumably) join Class AAA Toledo. No timetable.

The Tigers expected Hector Rondon to become their closer prior to Spring Training but Rondon proved not ready for the job and was sent to the minors. The Tigers opened the season with a closer committee but it has not been a huge success thus far. Benoit has failed in both his save attempts and the games had to be saved by Phil Coke who Jim Leyland has insisted he prefers in a lefty relief role and not as the closer. Obviously, Valverde is now next in line for saves.

Detroit Tigers

Short-Term Closer - Phil Coke

Closer-In-Waiting - Jose Valverde

Future Closer – Bruce Rondon

Next – Joaquin Benoit

Sleeper – Al Alburquerque

Super-Sleeper – Octavio Dotel

Trade Advice: Chipper/Slowey for Valverde/Bartlett

Jon,

I have a deep pitching staff in a 12 person H2H league. I was looking to shop Kevin Slowey and Chipper Jones for Jose Valverde and Jason Bartlett. Is this a good deal?

Best Regards,

Robert

Hey Robert,

Thanks for reading. I really appreciate it.

Let's look at all of the players involved individually and then make a decision on the trade offer.

As I'm sure you know, Jose Valverde has had a few injury problems this season. Thankfully, the problems have been with his calf rather than his arm. Assuming the leg is fully healed he should have no problems. When healthy he is one of the better closing talents in baseball. I think he'll have a big second half.

Jason Bartlett is having the best season of his career thus far. He will continue to steal bases at a terrific rate. But I do not believe he can maintain his present 27 percent line drive rate, and .rage is 410 BABIP. His batting average is likely to keep dipping through the second half. His plate discipline has improved slightly. He is swinging at better pitches. Unfortunately, it hasn't translated into an increased walk rate. I believe he has become a better hitter but I do not think his power increase is real. I think he'll hit for a decent batting average, steal lots of bases but without the power he showed to start the season.

I like Kevin S lowey's potential a lot. He rarely walks anyone and has an excellent K/BB rate which is a sign of a talented pitcher. On the unfortunate side, Slowey is a fly ball pitcher. He is often hurt by the homerun, which is what led to his poor start this season. He has turned things around lately and I believe that he will finish the season strongly.

Chipper Jones is an excellent hitter with good power. He is having his typical season of high productivity between bouts with nagging injuries. He is presently having a problem with a sore toe but is mostly battling through it. I think he'll finish the season in this same typical fashion with a .300-plus average and 20-plus homers.

So what would you gain from this trade? Definitely stolen bases and saves, which I assume is what you are hoping to gain. You will lose some power if I'm right about Bartlett's drop off. You will also lose some innings and wins (naturally going from a starter to a reliever). I don't know the rest of your team but I assume your remaining starters are up to the job and you probably are not depending on Chipper's power.

I would do it if I were you.

Thanks again for reading.

Jon Williams
Advanced Fantasy Baseball