With Jose Valverde pitching well in three appearances with Class A Lakeland, it was safe to assume he’d be headed north sometime soon.

But your assumption might be wrong if you think he’s joining the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.

Craig Custance, the senior NHL writer for ESPN The Magazine, a Michigan native and Michigan State graduate, tweeted Tuesday afternoon that Valverde was on his flight to Detroit.

It’s unlikely he’d be flying through Metro Detroit if he were joining the Mud Hens, who were headed south to take on the Durham Bulls in North Carolina.

Valverde still appears on the Lakeland Flying Tigers roster, and the Tigers did not make any moves — other than bringing up Bruce Rondon earlier in the afternoon — to make public.

“We have no further moves to announce at this time,” said the Tigers manager of media relations, Rick Thompson. “If that status changes, we’ll share it at that time.”

By the terms of the minor league deal he signed with the organization on April 5, the Tigers have until May 8 to bring him to the big leagues before an opt-out clause in the contract kicks in.

UPDATE: Custance spoke with Valverde when the flight landed in Detroit.

Spoke with Jose Valverde. Expects to sign one-year deal with Tigers. He's not planning on going to Toledo.
— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) April 23, 2013