In a move that will be perhaps the least surprising of the 2012 offseason, the Detroit Tigers announced Friday that they'd picked up the club option on closer Jose Valverde's contract, for $9 million.

Valverde was a perfect 49-for-49 in save chances during the regular season, then went 3-for-3 in the postseason for the Tigers, just the third MLB closer in history to record more than 40 saves without blowing one. Eric Gagne ('03) and Brad Lidge ('08) were the others.

Along the way, Valverde broke Guillermo Hernandez's club record for consecutive saves (set at 32 in 1984), and Todd Jones' club record for saves in a season (set at 42 in 2000). The season earned Valverde a spot on the American League All-Star team midseason for the second year in a row, as well as the MLB Delivery Man of the Year Award, given annually to the game's best reliever.

The Tigers signed Valverde as a free agent from the Houston Astros in January of 2010, giving him a two-year, $14 million contract, with an option for a third year. The option will raise his annual salary slightly from $7 million in 2011 to $9 million next year.

Given his two-year total of 78 saves, and considering the underwhelming crop of closers on the free-agent market (many of them either coming off injury or poor seasons), it's entirely unsurprising the Tigers stuck with a known commodity.

With a save in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals, Tigers closer Jose Valverde matched the franchise Willie (Guillermo) Hernandez with his 32nd consecutive successful save. Hernandez, of course, was a perfect 32-for-32 in the World Championship season of 1984.

So am I writing this to say that Valverde should be a Cy Young/MVP candidate.

No. Hardly.

When you look at the rest of Valverde's numbers in comparison to Hernandez, they pale.

Valverde's ERA is a full run higher (2.92 to 1.92). Hernandez finished 68 games — Valverde is on a pace for 73 — but pitched 140.1 innings. If Valverde does indeed get to 73 games finished, he'll probably bury the single-season team record for saves (42, Todd Jones, 2000) with close to 50, but he'll only have 75 or so innings pitched.

And he won't come close to Hernandez's WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) of 0.941 — Valverde's is currently 1.297 — or his strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.11 — Valverde's is 1.73.

But don't take this to mean that I think Papa Grande isn't valuable to the Tigers.

Again — hardly.

He's blown a total of three saves in 61 chances. Yes, he's been a roller-coaster in non-save situations, but he's been money when the save is on the line.

And that brings us to the other issue: Money.

Aside from the first-round pick it cost them to sign him, Valverde has cost the Tigers $6.9 million last year, and $7 million this year. He's got a club option for $9 million for next season, something the Tigers would be wise to pick up. Or if that's too much to invest in a guy who will be 34 on Opening Day, they might want to start renegotiations.

Either way, there's no one in the Tigers' system currently who's ready to be the closer of the future. Joel Zumaya is unsigned for next year, and hasn't pitched in more than a year, anyway. One former first-round pick, Ryan Perry, has been up-and-down — both literally and figuratively — and is currently in Toledo trying to work through his control issues. Another first-round pick, Chance Ruffin, could be the player-to-be-named-later in the trade-deadline deal with Seattle, and has only 15 innings pitched above the Double-A level to date, anyway.

Until someone else steps up to be an internal solution, the Tigers need to keep Valverde around — especially since it's not like they're going to get anyone on the open market for much less than the $9 million price tag they already have Valverde for in 2012 — if they want him.

And, the way he's going now, why wouldn't they?