JOSE VALVERDE RUMORS

It is never too early to start talking about the trade deadline, especially when we can talk about would-be contenders that might unexpectedly end up being sellers rather than buyers at the deadline. Over the next few weeks, we'll be taking a look at many of these such teams, and there is a surprisingly large amount, and what exactly they might be looking...

A few pieces of important roster news trickled out today. First, Ryan Raburn was placed on the bereavement list*, and Danny Worth was called up from Toledo up to take his roster spot. *The bereavement list allows players to take a handful of games off to attend to family emergencies. This usually indicates a serious illness or death in the family which, needless to say, is unfortunate...

Detroit -- From the very brief good-news category in the Detroit Tigers file: they may have found a solid middlelate reliever. Brayan Villarreal, called up after Wednesday night's game because of Jose Valverde's lower back strain, pitched two scoreless innings in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins. Villarreal allowed one hit while walking one and striking out...

Detroit manager Jim Leyland says closer Jose Valverde is day to day with a strained lower back. Valverde was taken out of Detroit's victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday, and Leyland says if Valverde is unable to pitch, Joaquin Benoit would probably be the primary candidate to close games. However, the Detroit manager says it could depend on the situation and he '...

DETROIT -- Jose Valverde will likely miss the two-game series against the Minnesota Twins but hopes to be available after that. Valverde left in the ninth inning of the Tigers' wild 10-8 comeback victory in Chicago because of a lower back strain. "I don't feel nothing when I warm up in the bullpen," Valverde said. "The thing is, I throw a couple pitches for...

The Detroit Tigers closer Jose Valverde had to leave the game in the ninth inning with lower back problems, Valverde says he will be good as he lists himself as day to day. Oh really? Valverde hasn’t been the same Valverde all season long so far. He has blown a couple of saves and now he has lower back problems. Is it possible he has been bothered by back problems all season...

Tigers closer Jose Valverde left Tuesday's 10-8 victory over the Chicago White Sox in the ninth inning with a back injury. "His lower back tightened up, and we had to get him out of there," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said after the game. Valverde retired the first two batters of the ninth before walking Paul Konerko and giving up a double to A.J. Pierzynski. While...

Jose Valverde came in for the Detroit Tigers and he could have closed out the game and gave his Tigers a win over the Chicago White Sox if he didn’t surrender the long ball to White Sox designated hitter Adam Dunn. Dunn’s home run scored Alejandro De Aza and the Sox took the lead in the 9th 3-2 over the Tigers. Valverde has been having a tough time this season closing...

Should the Detroit Tigers consider swapping out the closer duties and hand the 9th inning keys to Joaquin Benoit? We’ve all that about it, but would it be the right move? Jose Valverde went 49 for 49 in save opportunities last year, albeit in consistently dramatic fashion. But 49 for 49 is flat out epic and must be respected. Regardless, should Benoit get a crack at the job? Let’s...

We all knew the streak would eventually end. Jose Valverde, the All-Star closer who was a perfect 49-for-49 in save opportunities a season ago blew his first chance of the season on Thursday. I wasn’t necessarily a fan of the Tigers picking up the $9 million team option on Valverde’s contract for this season (I’m a big believer that you don’t pay for saves), so watching...