The Houston Astros are heading toward an important offseason, and Framber Valdez is right in the middle of it. With his recent outbursts and free agency coming up, questions are growing about whether the 31-year-old is making his final starts in an Astros uniform.
Valdez hasn’t been at his best down the stretch. Since the start of August, he has gone 1-5 with a 5.95 ERA, and the Astros have lost seven of his last eight starts. For a pitcher who has been viewed as one of Houston’s most reliable arms in recent years, it’s been a worrying dip in form.
Hall of Famer John Smoltz, speaking on Filippin’ Bats with Ben Verlander, gave his views on whether Framber Valdez might be making his final few starts with the Astros.
“Probably financially. That seems to be the path that the Astros make in these situations… I think he’s got the ability… his value goes through the roof because his health has been so much better. I hope that’s the case for him, but time will tell,”Smoltz said.
Smoltz also stressed the mental side of pitching and pointed out that Framber Valdez has shown the signs of being mentally tough despite rough outings.
“Can he get to the next level mentally? Is he tough enough? He showed signs of that… Everyone’s going to have a mistake… But I think he’s got the ability.”
John Smoltz Believes Framber Valdez Hitting His Catcher Was Not Intentional
On the incident with catcher Cesar Salazar, where Framber Valdez crossed up the catcher and hit him with a ball during the Astros’ 7-1 loss to the Yankees on September 3, Smoltz said that it didn’t look intentional.
“He was frustrated. I thought I saw the catcher try to get him to stop before the home run. Sometimes you go a little blind as a pitcher in the next thing. You’re just gonna throw a pitch that you’re gonna throw, and I truly do believe that there was more frustration than there was intention.”
Notably, this is Framber Valdez’s final year under contract. He earned $18 million through arbitration in 2025, and Spotrac projects his next deal could reach over $203 million over six years. The real question is whether the Astros will step up to make that offer, or if another team will.
The post John Smoltz Reveals Brutal Reality On Framber Valdez’s Astros Future As Free Agency Approaches originally published on Total Pro Sports.