If Valverde Is Out, Who Closes?

The Tigers are rebounding and part of their slow start has to boil down to injuries, which struck the Tigers again last night when Jose Valverde was taken out of the game before getting the  save and diagnosed with a sprained wrist.  He will be back, but the question is when?  If he has to take a trip to the DL for a few weeks the Tigers will need a closer.  Many fans want to see Brayan Villarreal get the chance, who finally broke out and lived up to his stuff and fastball this season.  He even has a fantastic pick-off move for a righty, which can come in handy for a closer in a sticky situation or a close game but I wouldn’t mess with his role or success and he seems to have a very bright future as a middle reliever.  Then there is Joaquin Benoit, the best reliever on the Tigers, but he’s a setup man and a relief ace will be needed in other situation outside the ninth inning, which is exactly what Benoit does best.  The two best options boil down to Phil Coke, who had a very clutch save in Game 5 of last season’s ALCS or former closer Octavio Dotel, who blew a big save against Seattle, but to his benefit it was only one bad outing.  Both could be decent fill-ins, but what I’d do is put Dotel in first, because he’s good and has experience even if he hasn’t closed in a while, and Coke can still help in LOOGY situations and other late inning needs, but if Dotel struggles I would give the job to Coke right away.  The best news would be for Valverde to be healthy and keep closing, because he can get saves and I think he will bounce back, maybe not to last years form but with his skill and some luck Valverde is still an all-star closer.  If he does go on the DL, I would call-up Chris Bootcheck, who could turn into a pretty good reliever.