Jose Valverde had his spring training after all, but it wasn't with the Tigers. It was at home in the Dominican Republic, writes Dick Scalon in the Lakeland Ledger.
Now he's back at Tigertown for Part II.
"That's what I'm doing here in Lakeland, working like a normal spring training for a normal guy," Valverde said Wednesday. "I have to go out and figure out what the general manager and the front office want. They want to see a guy who can pitch in the big leagues and be ready."
The veteran relief pitcher signed a minor-league contract last Thursday, the third day of Detroit's regular season. After being released by the Tigers last fall, he sat out spring training as a free agent, waiting for the phone to ring.
When it finally rang, he was not surprised it was the Tigers.
"Not really, because there's not too many closers right now on the market," he said. "I have to do my job no matter what. I know I'll be pitching this year. I don't know where, if it's in Mexico, Japan or wherever. It's 100 percent that I'll be pitching. That's why I was working every single day in the Dominican."
