The Arizona Diamondbacks traded Jose Valverde to the Houston Astros for a hair
below his trade value because the Diamondbacks feared the kind of money that the
2007 major league saves leader might make in arbitration. In reality,
Valverde will only make $2.7 million more than he did in his standout 2007
season.
Coincidentally, that $2.7 million raise almost precisely matches the combined
2008 salaries of Chad Qualls, Chris Burke, and Juan Gutierrez - the three
players Arizona received in return for Valverde. While the Diamondbacks
did save $2 million via the trade, it's difficult to balance that against the
loss of talent, at least for this upcoming season.
Although Qualls is consistently solid out of the bullpen, he lacks Valverde's
ability to dominate for a stretch, as he has never posted an ERA below 3.00.
This move also leaves the Diamondbacks absent a pitcher with more than two
months of closing experience. Burke gives the club defensive versatility,
but his offensive contributions will almost certainly amount to less than what
several Diamondbacks who will open the season at Triple-A might contribute, if
his career .696 OPS is any indication. There is a good chance that
Gutierrez will not pitch at all for the big league club in 2008.
Valverde will once again be eligible for arbitration in 2009 before potentially
testing free agent waters in 2010. The Diamondbacks can control Qualls,
Burke, and Gutierrez for substantially longer. Time will determine whether
that will outweigh two more years of Jose Valverde for around $10 million.
Want to write
for FutureBacks.com? FutureBacks is now opening
internships for the upcoming 2008 season. If you live near one of
the six Diamondbacks minor league affiliates, know baseball, and
have a writing background, send your resume
and two sample pieces of writing (at least one of which must
be a journalistic piece about baseball) to
future_backs@yahoo.com. Applicants must be
able to attend a minimum of three games per homestand, and
students looking for course credit must get approval from
their instructors.