Valverde Deal is Official, Roster Move to Follow

The Tigers today annouced the signing of closer Jose Valverde to a two-year contract with a club option for a third. The move puts the team at 41 players on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move must be made soon.

Mark Anderson of TigsTown noted in a tweet to MLB.com’s Jason Beck that he’s hearing Don Kelly would likely be the guy DFA’d.

I hope this isn’t the case.

There is an argument to be made that Kelly is the weakest link on the roster, but he also has several points in his favor. Namely, he hits left handed and can play literally anywhere on the field. Kelly also has good speed and a good enough glove that he can provide spot duty at the big league level. He also is nearing 30 years old and has little chance to improve his game at this point.

So the Tigers will likely send him through the waiver process, just as they did mid-season last year. He cleared waivers that time and he may again, but he does have value so I’d expect another club will put a claim in on him. If not, he could be released, but more likely would be re-assigned to the minor leagues.

If it were up to me, I’d try like hell to work a trade of Bobby Seay.

The Tigers have far too many lefty relievers at this point, and Seay is due a raise through arbitration. Even if they only received cash considerations for Seay, his salary coming off the books would be a welcome relief for this team. Plus his replacements (Fu-Te Ni, Brad Thomas, Daniel Schlereth, Phil Coke) are all making significantly less money than Seay will. Seems like a win-win to me.