The Detroit Tigers and reliever Jose Valverde reached a deal on a two-year, $14 million contract Tuesday. A $9 million 2012 option is included in the deal. Valverde led the National League in saves in the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
Valverde was signed to fill the void left by Fernando Rodney and Brandon Lyon. Rodney went on to sign a two-year, $11 million contract with the Angels while Lyon signed a three-year, $15 million deal with the Houston Astros.
One player comparable to Valverde is White Sox reliever J.J. Putz. After the 2009 season, the White Sox and Putz completed a deal for three-years, $13.1 million with a $1.5 million signing bonus.
16 replies on “Valverde Gets Paid”
Putz did not sign a deal like that and Valverde lost millions by not accepting arbitration. Dominic, you really need to do some research before you post. This is terrible..
Brian – you’re correct, Putz signed that deal after the 2006 season, my mistake. While I do acknowledge my error with Putz, I don’t believe I made a remark in the post about Valverde gaining or losing money by not accepting arbitration…when I say comparable, I mean it statistically-wise and not monetarily.
FYI – Putz signed a one-year, $3 million contract in 2009 with some added incentives.
Mr.Cashman,
who exactly are you to tell someone that what they post is “Terrible”? Maybe you should show some respect. Or Conversely write a post yourself and other people can critique it. Then you can talk.
I think you should have mentioned the fact that he did not accept. It makes people understand that his contract was not that great. You also could have pointed out that most big markets have a stable closer, thus taking out the teams who would spend $10m + a year on a closer. You still cannot compare Valverde to Putz in any way. Putz was a first year arbitration guy after 2006 and Valverde was a free agent this year. Putz had one team (Seattle), while Valverde had 30 teams to work with. Valverde had a rough year to be a free agent. The one good thing about not taking arbitration is that an arbitration contract is not guaranteed and the contract the Valverde signed was.
I don’t necessarily agree that Valverde had a rough year. He finished with better numbers than K Rod and had almost exact stats as Rivera and Papelbon (the guys Keith mentioned below). However, I’ll give Rivera and Papelbon more credit since they pitch in the AL. Papelbon avoided arbitration and signed a one-year deal worth $9.35 million on Tuesday with the BoSox (he could earn up to $9.5 mil through incentives). So if you were to compare Valverde’s contract to Papelbon’s, I’d say they’re in close proximity to each other. Therefore I do think Valverde’s contract is a pretty big amount since it will yield him about $7 million a year and possibly $9 million in 2012.
Valverde is a much better closer than Putz.
Valverde is he league’s 6th t closer behind Rivera, Papelbon, Nathan, K Rod, and Soria.
Rough year meaning the amount of teams that need a closer…
Once again, you are comparing an arbitration closer to a free agent closer. The dynamics are different. Compare Val’s deal to Lidge, Cordero, Fuentes, and KRod. Val left more than $3m on the table for 2010 alone by not accepting arbitration. How could you say this is a good deal? He made more in 2009 as a arbitration player than he will in 2010 as a free agent. You need to look at free agent signings and not arbitration signings. *Note lidge was an extention..
You really need to read the CBA and study arbitration.
Well, nice payday for Valverde. I’d take any contract that was even one-tenth that and feel rich!
Francis – So a site that is reporting on a signing, but with the wrong information is good enough for you? I thought this site was supposed to educate people. Am I wrong?
I agree with Brian. If you were to read this post, assuming the author has an understanding of the process, some basic knowledge of the CBA and how MLS effects one’s contract, you would leave thinking that the Valverde deal is a good one. If I was looking for an average fans opinion regarding the Valverde signing, I would go to a Tigers fan site. This site, unless I am mistaken, takes a deeper look at sports (issues, contracts, marketing etc) from the vantage point of an agent (or in Dominic’s case, an 18 yr college freshman)
Bob (I wish I knew your real name) – I usually take criticism constructively and I appreciate what Brian and everyone has had to say. However, you’re “18 year old college freshman” comment is pretty damn low. So low, in fact, that I can’t even take you serious. So I applaud your boldness in posting garbage comments. Bravo!
Dominic –
I think what people are saying is that you need to do a little more research before you post your comments regarding a contract or the draft. Saves, Wins, Losses, ERA etc.. are just a few stats that managment and agents look at when going to arbitiration or evaluating a players performance. In addition, when you come with a draft projection and some of the guys you had in the first round arent even in the top 60 picks in your next projections shows a lack of preparation.
bobby
Bobby – I see what you’re saying and like I told Bob, I will work a lot harder in the future…no excuses. However, I do not think that my fluctuation with the draft projections is a lack of preparation. I put a lot of time into the mock and this past update was the first in about a month. Ask anybody and they will tell you that a lot can change in a month as far as college football goes. Injuries, development, and performance in big games can truly alter a players’ draft stock.
Dominic –
Please accept my apology if I have offended you. I believe stating that you are an 18 yr old, college freshman is more of a fact than a low blow (you do have an author bio on the Sports Agent Blog website). I fail to see how my comments are “garbage”, this is an open discussion on a public blog site & let us not forget that the catalyst for this particular discussion is your clear lack of understanding of the MLB salary system.
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I may have been a bit harsh. Sometimes people come here just looking to stir up trouble so I’m sorry as well. I see what everyones point is and I promise to work harder in that future. That’s all I can do.