Another reliever bites the dust; Jose Valverde will receive $4.7MM rather than the $6.2MM he was after. That $1.5MM could go toward another starter, as could another $2.15MM saved in the event the Astros beat Mark Loretta (I think they will). Of course, the list of remaining free agent starters ain’t pretty. It shouldn’t be on February 15th.
Valverde is under the Astros’ control through the 2009 season. If he has another 40 save season, he can probably vault past $10MM for ’09.
