MLB Trade Rumors: Jose Valverde

From Buster Olney at ESPN.com:

"Heard this: Jose Valverde, the most accomplished reliever on the market, is asking teams for an annual salary of $8 million, and he has made it clear he only wants to be a closer, so far. The Pirates and Marlins, two teams that need closers, certainly won't pay him that much; the Tigers need a closer, but in an offseason in which they've done some financial belt-tightening, it remains to be seen whether they would go that far."

$8MM? Add this to the $17MM two-year deal Adam laRoche turned down. These guys are looking at being Abreu-ed - signing a one-year deal for a handful of millions and hoping to be rewarded next winter.

FWIW, both players are more valuable for fantasy purposes than in real-life ones.