Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
As teams get ready to start making real offers to all the players in free agency, there are plenty of options to go around. This is especially true in the pitching realm, and teams could get themselves into bidding wars to land talent.
One of the better arms on the market is veteran left-hander Framber Valdez of the Houston Astros. Valdez is being seen by many as the second or third best option in free agency, and he could still land a very nice contract.
Valdez had a very up-and-down 2025 season that saw him completely dominant in the first half of the year. The veteran posted a record of 11-4 with a 2.62 ERA, while striking out 141 batters over 134 innings of work in his first 21 starts of the year.
However, things flipped for him in the second half as he posted an ERA of 6.05 over his final 10 starts. There was some bad luck here for Valdez, but teams may look to use this against him in contract negotiations.
Valdez will be turning 32 years old, and he isn’t generally seen as an ace, so this could also limit his value. But he did increase the velocity on his siunker this year, and it seemed to make a massive difference out on the moind.
The Astros did place a qualifying offer on Valdez, so any team that signs him will need to give up a draft pick. But for players of his caliber, teams generally aren’t worried about giving up a pick.
Valdez could return to the Astros, but historically, Houston hasn’t been willing to spend money on players that they allow to enter free agency. This all remains to be seen, and if Valdez does leave the team, he could be a steal for any squad going forward.
This is just a prediction, NOT a report!
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Framber Valdez Will Join the San Francisco Giants
As the market takes shape for the veteran left-hander, the San Francisco Giants could become real players in his sweepstakes. San Francisco is coming off another year of missing the playoffs, and this team seems ready to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
Giants president of baseball operations, Buster Posey, wants to be aggressive this winter in adding to the roster. Posey has hinted that pitching will be the priority for this team and that they could spend big to bring in talent.
Valdez would be a great addition to this team, and he could create a lethal one-two punch for the Giants alongside ace Logan Webb. San Francisco loves to sign players like Valdez, and since he isn’t the top starter on the market, this could be perfect for the team.
His resume speaks for itself, and a team like the Giants could look to maximize his talent for the next few years. San Francisco has to do something to get back into playoff contention, and addressing the starting rotation could be the way to go about it.