After a long and curious offseason for the stud ace Framber Valdez, he lands with a team that I am not sure I ever heard a rumor about him landing with, the Detroit Tigers. Framber Valdez has been the model of consistency year-to-year in his career. He spent parts of 8 years with the Houston Astros, and he was their bona fide ace, but in 2025, when it looked like there were no conversations of an extension (which is common in Houston), he looked to be mentally checked out of their first season, where they have missed the playoffs since 2016. He famously crossed up his catcher, Cesar Salazar, last season in a September 2 start against the New York Yankees, which probably hurt his free agency a little.
Valdez inks a 3-year 115 million dollar deal to reunite with his former manager, A.J. Hinch, in Houston. This is the highest Average Annual for a left-handed pitcher in the history of the sport. He has a play-option after the 2nd year. His cross-up incident will be one that may have hurt the number of teams on his free agency, but it surely did not hurt the amount of money he received. $38.3 million a year will surely be enough for a player who is a model of consistency.
Valdez has pitched over 170 innings a season in the last four years, and three of those seasons he was above 190 innings. This is surely going to be a great signing for a staff that can struggle with innings. Over the past four seasons, he has had a 3.21 ERA, with 2025 being his worst with a 3.66 ERA. His FIP was fine with a 3.37. He projects to be a solid innings eater for the rest of his career. Valdez’s contract saga comes to an end, and some thought that the late-season scandal was the reason for that, but ultimately, his age was a bigger factor for that in my opinion, and some of his declining peripherals. Some of his numbers on Baseball Savant can be a little concerning, but ultimately, he will be a good pitcher, and it saves face for the Detroit Tigers in 2025
Impact on the Tarik Skubal Situation
This move for the Detroit Tigers comes at the same time as a curious arbitration case, and a decision is looming for back-to-back Cy Young Winner Tarik Skubal. The Tigers were predicted to trade the best pitcher in the sport this offseason because of their lack of recent history signing players on big, long-term contracts. Skubal’s arbitration case is well documented to this point. It is the largest gap between a team and a player in history. The Tigers are coming in at $19 Million, and Skubal’s camp is coming in at a whopping $32 million. This would be the biggest number for any player to date.
I think that this Valdez move is more insurance for the Tigers rather and gives their team a one-year window to try and win it all, rather than them beefing up a resume for Skubal to want to come back to the club. Then again, most would criticize the team for not trading him and getting some value out of him rather than just a comp pick for turning down the qualifying offer. Either way, if you’re a Tigers fan, you have to feel great about 2025 instead of the doomsday scenario
Detroit Tigers’ Impact for 2026
This move surely helps the Detroit Tigers for the 2026 season. I think this firmly confirms that Skubal will stay with the team through the 2026 season. As I said, this gives them a chance to win it all this season, doing their due diligence for the fans of Detroit. Valdez slots in nicely as a two when he is firmly a number one starting pitcher on 15 MLB rosters. The Tigers now have an extremely formidable rotation headlined by Skubal, bolstered by Valdez, and well-rounded by Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, and Reese Olson. Their starting pitching is the strongest part of their team and should carry them to an AL Central crown.
