Here’s the confirmation from the Tigers’ official Twitter account:
Valverde will be with the club in Detroit tomorrow and manager Jim Leyland says he will be the team’s closer.
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 23, 2013
Valverde was a mess in last year’s playoffs, drew very little interest on the free agent market this winter and has not appeared above High-A ball since signing a minor league contract with the Tigers on April 4. But none of that apparently matters to Leyland and the Tigers. Joaquin Benoit will return to a setup role.