Lefty Framber Valdez is finally off the board. The Tigers have landed the top free-agent pitcher on a three-year contract worth $115 million, reports ESPN. Valdez has an opt out after the second season and there are deferrals, reports The Athletic. The team has not yet announcing the signing.
There are questions with Valdez that explain why he sat around on the market until just days before pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Still, there’s a very good track record of success here.
Valdez, 32, has been one of the game’s top starters over the last six seasons, pitching to a 3.23 ERA since 2020 and averaging 30 starts and 192 innings per year since 2021. He is the game’s preeminent ground ball starter. Since 2021, Valdez has gotten a ground ball on more than 60% of balls in play, easily the highest among starting pitchers. The league average is around 42% grounders.
We ranked Valdez as the fourth-best free agent available this offseason, and the top starter available. Here’s the write-up:
Valdez isn’t for everyone. He’s a contact manager from a swing-and-miss generation who, year in and year out, belongs near the bottom of the majors in average exit velocity surrendered. Of course, that statistic doesn’t tell the whole story. Valdez utilizes his three-pitch mix (sinker, curve, change) to coerce the kind of earthbound contact that removes the sting from the ball. Pair him with some well-positioned and surehanded defenders and you’ll be happy with the outcome. Otherwise, why bother?
Valdez rejected the qualifying offer earlier this offseason. The Tigers will have to surrender a 2026 draft pick to sign him and the Astros, Valdez’s longtime team, will receive a 2026 compensation draft pick for losing him to free agency.
Remember, Valdez came up in the Astros’ system and debuted in 2018, pitching for current Tigers manager A.J. Hinch in the 2018-19 seasons before Hinch was dismissed in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal.
In adding Valdez, the Tigers now have a pair of frontline lefties atop the rotation along with two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. Skubal is, of course, a free agent after the 2026 season. The presence of Valdez in the rotation post-2026 helps mitigate some of the potential loss of Skubal’s services, unless the Tigers are able to come to terms on an extension with Skubal. There is also the chance the Tigers decide to trade Skubal and have Valdez take his place in the rotation, too, though that would be a substantial downgrade.
As things stand, the Tigers look to have a potentially robust rotation. Skubal and Valdez are an excellent place to start. Casey Mize was an All-Star last season, going 14-6 with a 3.87 ERA in 28 starts. Jack Flaherty has shown himself to be inconsistent for years, but when he’s on, he looks like a frontline starter (most recently in 2024). Reese Olson is quite capable for someone who figures to be the fifth starter and Drew Anderson is coming back to the majors after a 2.25 ERA in 30 starts in Korea in 2025.
The Tigers have made the playoffs and advanced for two straight seasons, losing in Game 5 of the ALDS both times. They had a 14-game lead last season and blew that, finishing one game behind the Guardians for the AL Central title. Still, they bested Cleveland in the Wild Card Series to advance.
The Tigers were already arguably the favorites in the AL Central (+125, per Caesars), so adding Valdez to beef up the rotation puts them in better position to take their first division crown since 2014.