Surprise, suprise -- Jose Valverde is back as the Tigers' closer, the team announced after Tuesday night's rainout at Comerica Park.
"The list of those floored begins with the Tigers front office," Lynn Henning says at The Detroit News. The pitcher wowed four scouts from the team last Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Fla., the columnist writes.
They had expected the minimum from a man who two months ago turned 36. They instead saw a pitcher whose stuff, separate from the Single A batters he was working against, had the sass and sizzle essential for closing a game. . . .
The fastball . . .looked much like the fastball he delivered during his 49-save season of 2011.
Now, the Tigers can afford to experiment. And they just might prosper. . . .
If he has his old fire back, the Tigers could find themselves — in their bluest of blue-sky visions — with, in fact, a reliable closer.
Hnning notes that manager Jim Leyland now "can be selective in how he uses the 22-year-old Bruce Rondon," brought up earlier Tuesday from Triple A Toledo.
