Astros Head to Arbitration with Valverde and Loretta
January 24, 2008 by Kori Ellis
Filed under Baseball
After a self-imposed deadline past for the Houston Astros on Wednesday night, general manager Ed Wade announced that the team will proceed to salary arbitration with Jose Valverde and Mark Loretta.
Said Wade: “That’s why we felt it was appropriate to let the agents know up front. The right way to handle this was to create a deadline. In order for us to be men of our words, we will stick by the deadline.”
Valverde was acquired in the offseason and is expected to be the closer for the Astros in 2008. Last year for the Arizona Diamondback, Valverde had 47 saves and an ERA of 2.66. Loretta will enter his second season with the Astros this year. Last season, the infielder hit .287 with four homeruns and 41 RBIs.
The arbitration hearing will take place on Feb. 1 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
