Reported Jose Valverde Demands Not Accurate

UPDATE, 11-29-07 at 10am: Nick Piecoro talked to Valverde’s agent; the below demands are not accurate.  Valverde knows where he stands and that he’s a few years off from cashing in.  Another D’Backs note: they were in on Matt Garza but Carlos Gonzalez didn’t measure up to Delmon Young.

FROM 11-27-07 at 10:30am:

Jose Valverde led the Majors with 47 saves last year, and now he wants to be paid accordingly.  He made $2MM in ’07 in his first year of arbitration.

Listin Diario, a well-known Dominican Republic newspaper, reported on November 9th that Valverde is seeking a four-year deal from the Diamondbacks in the range of $50-60MM (hat tip AZ Snakepit).  Sounds like Valverde wants to be paid like a guy with six years of service time, though he only has four.

Failing a multiyear deal, Valverde is hoping to get $10MM for the 2008 season.  The article says the D’Backs offered $4MM.  If the two sides can’t meet somewhere, they’ll have to go to arbitration.

If Valverde is to get up to the $8-10MM range it makes sense for the D’Backs to shop him as an elite closer under team control through 2009.  He could be involved in a deal for a starter, for example the Tigers’ Jeremy Bonderman (pure speculation).  What are your thoughts on a Valverde deal that might make sense?