{"id":523030,"date":"2026-01-16T06:18:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T06:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/523030\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T06:18:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T06:18:14","slug":"orioles-get-framber-valdez-update-as-mlb-free-agency-decision-nears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/523030\/","title":{"rendered":"Orioles Get Framber Valdez Update as MLB Free Agency Decision Nears"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Baltimore Orioles<\/a> remain firmly in contention for one of the premier arms on the free agent market, left\u2011hander Framber Valdez.<\/p>\n

With his decision expected soon, the Orioles are reportedly among the finalists alongside the New York Mets, positioning themselves for a potential rotation\u2011altering addition.<\/p>\n

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Valdez, who debuted with the Houston Astros in 2018, has built a reputation as one of the most consistent and durable pitchers in the game.<\/p>\n

Over eight seasons in Houston, he compiled an 81\u201152 record with a 3.36 ERA, striking out more than 1,000 batters while logging over 1,000 innings. His ability to generate ground balls and limit damage has made him a reliable presence at the front of a rotation.<\/p>\n

He was a two\u2011time All\u2011Star, a key contributor to the Astros\u2019 2022 World Series championship and set an MLB record with 25 consecutive quality starts in 2022.<\/p>\n

Now entering free agency for the first time, Valdez declined Houston\u2019s qualifying offer and is seeking a long\u2011term deal.<\/p>\n

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Analysts project him to command a contract in the range of five years and $150 million or more, reflecting both his track record and the scarcity of dependable starting pitching on the market.<\/p>\n

MLB Network analyst Steve Phillips highlighted why Valdez is such a coveted target, noting his unique path to becoming a workhorse starter.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut for Framber Valdez, now also represented by Scott Boras, I think getting the five years for Suarez, I think that still even a couple years older, you\u2019re going to get five years for Framber Valdez. He was an outfielder coming up in the organization, transitioned to pitching. He wasn\u2019t a young pitcher who logged all kinds of youthful innings. And so, yeah, he\u2019s a little bit older, but he\u2019s a workhorse on the mound,\u201d Phillips said.<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cI think it\u2019s down between the Orioles and the Mets. And I think that really the fall off after Framber Valdez to Zach Gallen, I think is significant. I think there\u2019s some unpredictability with Gallen. Framber is one of the most predictable pitchers.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Baltimore, the pursuit of Valdez reflects their commitment to building on recent success and solidifying a rotation that has shown promise but still lacks a proven ace.<\/p>\n

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Adding Valdez would give the Orioles a dependable arm capable of delivering quality starts deep into the season and postseason.<\/p>\n

With the Mets also in the mix, the decision looms as one of the defining moves of the offseason, and whichever team lands Valdez will secure a pitcher whose consistency and durability remain among the most respected in the league.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Baltimore Orioles remain firmly in contention for one of the premier arms on the free agent market,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":523031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2374],"tags":[143,47,2538,5,79,54,4,61,125,23487,1362],"class_list":["post-523030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-baltimore-orioles","tag-baltimore","tag-baltimore-orioles","tag-baltimoreorioles","tag-baseball","tag-framber-valdez","tag-houston-astros","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-mets","tag-orioles","tag-steve-phillips","tag-the-orioles"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115903326137820210","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}