Framber Valdez remains the best and most fascinating free agent case going. His obvious comps are Max Fried and Corbin Burnes from last year’s free agent class plus Dylan Cease from this one — three pitchers who received $200M deals.
Valdez — tied with Fried for most wins this decade and second to Zack Wheeler for quality starts — is said to be very patient.
Stars have had long waits before, notably Bryce Harper, who didn’t sign his 13-year, then-record $330M deal until Feb. 28.
Valdez is a year-plus older than the above trio of comps as they entered free agency. However, he posted a higher WAR than them not only in his platform year but also in the two years prior to free agency as well as the three years prior.