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Left-hander Framber Valdez has been one of the more consistent arms across baseball over the past few years. Valdez has shown both the ability to be productive on the mound and also to be one of the more durable pitchers in baseball.

The veteran is now entering free agency, and he has already drawn plenty of interest from across the league. Many see Valdez as the second-best starting pitcher on the open market, and this could net him a very nice contract.

Aldez has the fifth-most regular-season innings pitched since the 2021 season, and he could be a strong addition to any club. However, the 2025 season was a mixed bag for Valdez, with him dominating in the first half of the year.

In his first 21 starts, Valdez posted a record of 11-4 with a 2.62 ERA, while striking out 141 batters over 134 innings of work. But in the second half, things fell apart as Valdez went 2-7 with a 6.05 ERA over his final 10 starts, striking out 46 over 58 innings.

Valdez will be turning 32 years old, which could limit his market overall. But we have seen teams hand out large deals to players, despite the age, so the veteran could be next in line with this idea.

Valdez thrives on having a high ground ball rate, and he was able to increase the velocity of his sinker this year. This could help him in negotiations, and his consistency will also help.

Many around the game expected Valdez to leave the Astros, but that all remains to be seen. Houston needs starting pitching help, but if they don’t offer Valdez the type of deal that is needed, he is likely to explore other opportunities this offseason. 

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One team that could easily make a run to steal Valdez away from the Astros is the rival Los Angeles Angels. Los Angeles knows him very well from all their meetings with Houston, and he could instantly become the frontline starter for the team.

The Angels have been willing to spend in free agency over the years, and adding Valdez to the mix could help round out the starting rotation. Los Angeles has missed the playoffs for a decade straight, and bringing a talent like Valdez in could help stop the long drought.

Valdez won’t solve all the problems that the Angels gave, but he will finally give them a top starter to help make this team much more formidable. Pitching has been a real problem for the Angels over the years, and Valdez could offer them the stability that the roster has been lacking.

Owner Arte Moreno seems to be tired of losing every single year and missing the playoffs, so many expect the Angels to be big players in free agency this winter. Valdez could be the perfect signing, and he would immediately be given the keys to the pitching staff for the next few years of his career.