Framber Valdez, Tigers Reportedly Agree to $115M Contract in MLB FA Amid Tarik Skubal Rumors

Framber Valdez is moving on from the Houston Astros after agreeing to a deal with the Detroit Tigers in free agency.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, Valdez will sign a three-year, $115 million contract with the Tigers. It's the highest average annual value ever for a left-handed pitcher, Passan added.

Valdez arrived in the big leagues in 2018 and primarily pitched out of the bullpen for his first two seasons before being inserted in the rotation on a full-time basis in 2020.

The 2021 season was Valdez's breakout when he posted a 3.14 ERA in 134.2 innings. He was terrific during the 2022 postseason with a 1.44 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 25 innings over four starts to help the Astros win the World Series.

In a soft offseason for free-agent pitchers, Valdez stood out as the best of the bunch thanks to his combination of high-level performance and consistent durability.

Since the start of the 2021 season, Valdez ranks fifth among all pitchers in innings, fourth in ERA and seventh in FanGraphs' wins above replacement (minimum 800 innings). He finished in the top 10 in AL Cy Young voting in three consecutive years from 2022 to '24.

Valdez, who turned 32 on Nov. 19, is the type of pitcher who can have sustained success into his mid-30s because he's not a high-volume strikeout artist.

The left-handed Valdez succeeds thanks in large part to his ability to keep the ball on the ground better than almost any other pitcher in MLB. He ranked third in groundball rate last season and has allowed fewer than 0.9 homers per nine innings every year since 2020.

Valdez is equally effective against right-handed hitters (.643 OPS) as he is against lefties (.650). He has only given up 17 homers to left-handed hitters in his career.

This is a great move for the Tigers to upgrade the top of their rotation for the next several years. Even when Valdez starts to lose some of his velocity, the sink he generates on the ball will allow him to remain very effective.

While most of the focus about Detroit's pitching staff this offseason has centered around Tarik Skubal's future, it overshadowed the reality that the rest of the group behind him isn't very good.

Casey Mize, who had a 3.87 ERA in 28 starts last season, shouldn't be counted on to repeat that performance since it was just the second time in his career he threw more than 110 innings.

Jack Flaherty regressed badly last season with a 4.64 ERA after a strong 2024.

Even if the Tigers don't end up trading Skubal and ride things out with him in 2026 before he hits free agency, they are going to need another high-level starting pitcher if he leaves.

Valdez isn't a perfect one-for-one future replacement, but he's a good option for a team that doesn't seem to be in the market to spend at a high level. The Tigers are set up once again to compete for a playoff spot in the AL Central.