Framber Valdez Signs With AL Contender In Record-Breaking Fashion
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, left-hander Framber Valdez and the Detroit Tigers are in agreement on a three-year, $115 million contract.
It’s the highest AAV ever for a left-hander, as well as for a Latin American pitcher, per Passan.
The former Houston Astros dynamo was the best starting pitcher remaining on the free-agent market.
Valdez delivered a solid, workhorse performance for the Houston Astros during the 2025 regular season. In 31 starts, he compiled a 13-11 record with a 3.66 ERA over 192 innings pitched. He struck out 187 batters while walking 68, resulting in a 1.24 WHIP.
Valdez notched two complete games and maintained his reputation for durability, logging at least 175 innings for the fourth straight year. Though his ERA ranked 24th in the league and his win total tied for 12th among qualifiers, he provided consistent starts, allowing two or fewer earned runs in 18 outings and recording five games with 10 or more strikeouts.
A ground-ball specialist, Valdez induced weak contact throughout the campaign, though a rougher stretch late in the year contributed to the Astros missing the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade. His season marked another chapter in a reliable tenure with Houston, where he helped anchor the rotation.
Overall, Valdez’s career through 2025 spans eight MLB seasons, all with the Astros, totaling 188 games (166 starts), an 81-52 record, and a 3.36 ERA across 1,080.2 innings with 1,053 strikeouts and a 1.20 WHIP. He earned two All-Star selections, played a key role in the 2022 World Series championship (posting a 1.44 ERA in the postseason), and established himself as one of the league’s most dependable left-handed starters since joining the rotation full-time in 2020.