San Diego Padres ink Jose Valverde to minor league deal

The San Diego Padres have signed former closer Jose Valverde to a minor league contract according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America.

Valverde, 36, is coming off another disappointing season in 2014 for the New York Mets. Valverde briefly became the team’s closer because of an injury to Bobby Parnell, but his return to a closer role was not accompanied by a return to form.

In 21 games with the Mets, Valverde pitched to a 5.66 ERA in 20.2 innings, notching just two saves before the Mets moved him out of the ninth inning. The tumultuous stint came to an end when he was released in late May.

Valverde’s 2014 was nearly identical to his 2013, when he managed just a 5.59 ERA in 19.1 innings for the Detroit Tigers. The three-time All-Star last saw success in 2012, when he posted a 3.78 ERA with 35 saves for the Tigers. However, that 3.78 ERA had been his highest since 2006, and his season ended in disastrous fashion.

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In Game 1 of the ALCS versus the New York Yankees that year, Jose Valverde began the ninth inning with a four-run lead but allowed two-run home runs to both Ichiro Suzuki and Raul Ibanez to allow the Yankees to tie the game. Valverde had also blown ALDS Game 4 against the Oakland Athletics and allowed two more runs in World Series Game 1 versus the San Francisco Giants.

Valverde was most dominant from 2007 to 2011, when he recorded 191 saves, an average of 38 per season, while pitching to an ERA of 2.74. Three times he led his league in saves, and he twice finished in the top 6 of the Cy Young voting. His over-the-time antics on the mound garnered him a bad reputation, but no one could complain too much when he was pitching so well.

The fact is, though, that Valverde hasn’t shown that he has anything left in the tank the past few years. His fastball velocity remains impressive at an average of 94.06 MPH, but his command has disappeared entirely. Between 2013 and 2014, Valverde allowed 10 home runs in 40 innings pitched, as many home runs as he had allowed in his previous 159.2 frames.

Jose Valverde’s velocity has continued getting him chances even as his effectiveness has disappeared, but it is worth asking whether his signing with the San Diego Padres will mark the end of the line for his career. Will Valverde get another chance if he pitches poorly again? The Padres are hoping to catch lighting in a bottle, but in all probability, they are simply signing Valvarde as a depth move.