One of baseball’s most consistent and durable pitchers has his first big free-agent contract. Framber Valdez reportedly agreed to a three-year, $115 million deal with the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The deal reportedly contains deferred money and an opt-out after the second year. Its $38.3 million average annual value sets a record for left-handed pitchers. The only pitchers to receive more : Shohei Ohtani, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Zack Wheeler.
The deal also reunites Valdez with Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, who managed the Astros in Valdez’s first two seasons with the big-league team.
Valdez is coming off a season in which he posted a 3.66 ERA over 192 innings. By some measures, it was the lefty’s worst year in the majors since he became a regular in 2020.
While it’s always something of a concern to see a player experience decline just before hitting the market, Valdez’s 2025 was strong overall, maintaining his consistency over the past six seasons. Since becoming a regular member of the Houston Astros’ rotation in 2020, Valdez has posted ERAs between 2.82 and 3.66 in six straight years. He has put up strong innings totals over that period as well, ranking fifth among pitchers with 973 innings pitched since 2020.
The Tigers are pairing Framber Valdez and Tarik Skubal, for now
The deal comes with interesting timing for both the team and player.
Valdez was the last of Yahoo Sports’ top 10 free agents to find a deal, due to — among other things — a limited number of suitors, his age at 32 years old and some questions about his clubhouse presence not helped by a cross-up incident last September. He ended up getting a deal that is likely shorter than he was hoping, but with the chance to re-enter the market after the 2027 season.
As for the Tigers, they land the top pitcher left on the free agent market the night before they find out just how much they’ll be paying ace Tarik Skubal. The largest gap in arbitration history is set to be resolved this week, with the Tigers hoping to pay the two-time Cy Young winner $19 million for the 2026 season and Skubal seeking an arbitration-record $32 million.
Could Valdez’s deal have anything to do with the Skubal situation, especially given the Tigers’ limited resources and the trade rumors around Skubal? There’s currently no way to know for sure, but it’s certainly significant.
For now, the Tigers are set to pair the best pitcher in baseball with another top left-hander, with Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize and Reese Olson behind them. That’s among the most formidable rotations in the American League.
Is Framber Valdez still an ace?
Valdez is a hard-thrower but not one who typically racks up big strikeout totals. The lefty usually relies on a heavy sinker, which induces a ton of grounders and double-play balls. When he needs a strikeout, he uses his big, sweeping curveball to generate whiffs at an above-average clip.
That combination has resulted in plenty of success for Valdez, who has two All-Star appearances and three top-10 Cy Young finishes under his belt. He also played a significant role in the Astros winning the 2022 World Series. That postseason, Valdez posted a 1.44 ERA over four starts, striking out 33 over 25 innings.
Despite all that success, Valdez faced plenty of questions entering free agency. Given his age, lower strikeout totals and reliance on the defense behind him, Valdez isn’t always viewed as a top-tier ace. While he got off to a fantastic start in 2025, he didn’t help his free-agent case by floundering down the stretch. In the second half of the season, Valdez stumbled to a 5.20 ERA over 71 innings. Was that a blip on the radar or a sign of things to come?
Given Valdez’s consistency throughout his career thus far, the answer is likely the former. While his second-half struggles were concerning, his “bad” year was still better than what many pitchers are capable of producing at their best.
As long as Valdez’s sinker maintains its bite and his arm holds up, he should be able to provide near-ace numbers going forward. He walks a finer line than most top-of-the-rotation starters due to his limitations, but his track record suggests he’ll bounce back following a down year — by his standards — in 2025.
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