Jose Valverde warmed up for a save opportunity last night, but had to shut things down in the bullpen with wrist soreness and the Tigers instead turned to Phil Coke to close out the 6-3 win over the Cardinals.
Valverde showed up at the ballpark today feeling better, but told Jason Beck of MLB.com that he expects to miss at least 3-4 days and will be examined further by a wrist specialist before the Tigers decide if a disabled list stint is needed.
After converting all 49 of his regular season save chances last year Valverde has already blown three saves in 16 opportunities this year while posting a 4.18 ERA and nearly as many walks (17) as strikeouts (19) in 28 innings.
Joaquin Benoit is the likely fill-in closer, although Coke could get some save chances based on lefty-righty matchups.
