Is the American League East legitimately going to be the best division in Major League Baseball moving forward? The NL West would like a word about that, but it’s hard to imagine a tougher competitive landscape than the AL East in 2026, where the defending AL champ Blue Jays will surely be challenged by the division’s traditional powers, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Don’t forget about the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles, either. Tampa Bay started off 2025 hot, and Baltimore is one or two moves away from re-entering the competitive fray, which is something the Red Sox need to be wary of.
One guy the Orioles reportedly have their eye on is free-agent starter Framber Valdez, a two-time All-Star hurler who made his name with the Houston Astros but is probably on his way out of town.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand recently called Baltimore a “good fit” for Valdez and said that the Orioles are “going to get one of” Valdez, Dylan Cease, or Michael King because, in the blunt words of Feinsand, “they need to.”
“You look at Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, maybe Michael King, they’re going to get one of those guys. They need to.”@Feinsand talks about the Orioles as a fit for a top free agent starting pitcher. pic.twitter.com/sxK1ikbMO2
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 19, 2025
Valdez isn’t by any means over the hill at 32 years old. He could make a difference in the AL East, which is also why the Red Sox have been linked to him this offseason as they seek a No. 2 starter to slot behind ace Garrett Crochet.
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With how closely competitive the division promises to be next season, every All-Star addition to the AL East matters to all five teams. In some cases, front offices might be motivated to sign a guy just so that another team doesn’t. It remains to be seen if Valdez would demand that kind of urgency.