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 …read more

Avoiding arbitration, the Houston Astros signed relief pitcher Dave Borkowski to a one-year contract on Tuesday. The right-handed Borkowski will give the Astros more quality depth in their bullpen.
The 30-year-old from Detroit, Michigan will enter his third season with the Astros in 2008. During the 2007 campaign, Borkowski had five wins, three losses and a save while posting a 5.15 ERA. In 2006, he had three wins, two losses and a 4.69 ERA.
The Astros still have two arbitration-eligible players in pitcher Jose Valverde and infielder Mark Loretta.