Jose Valverde designated for assignment by the Tigers - MLB

Good night, Jose Valverde. Parting is such sweet sorrow. Mostly for opposing hitters:

This was inevitable. Valverde appeared in 20 games this season. His ERA is sitting at 5.59. He’s got nine saves but three blown saves and two day ago he was lit up like a pinball machine while doing mopup duty in a loss to the Orioles. Jim Leyland had clearly lost confidence in him. Heck, he only turned to him in the first place out of desperation.

It’s hard to see anyone wanting to take a chance on Papa Grande at this point. My guess is that he’ll be released outright by the Tigers in a few days and, at best, get a minor league deal from someone desperate for a live arm. A live arm which throws laser-straight fastballs and walks dudes at the worst possible time.

CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on the index finger of his right throwing hand.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the timetable for Syndergaard’s return is unknown despite the 15-day designation.

“The physical, the mental, the emotional part, as he’s talked about, has taken a toll on him,” Roberts said. “So, the ability to get him away from this. He left today to go back to Los Angeles to kind of get back to normalcy.”

Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, raising his ERA to 7.16.

Syndergaard (1-4) has surrendered at least five runs in three straight starts.

Syndergaard has been trying to return to the player he was before Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the better part of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Roberts said Syndergaard will need at least “a few weeks” to both heal and get away from baseball and “reset.”

“I think searching and not being comfortable with where he was at in the moment is certainly evident in performance,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this time away will provide more clarity on who he is right now as a pitcher.

“Trying to perform when you’re searching at this level is extremely difficult. I applaud him from not running from it, but it’s still very difficult. Hopefully it can be a tale of two stories, two halves when he does come back.”