Free Agent Profile: Framber Valdez, SP

Framber Valdez, SP

Age: 31 (11/19/1993) B/T: R/L

2025 Traditional Stats: 13-11, 3.66 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 192 IP, 187 SO, 68 BB, 31 GS

2025 Advanced Stats: 114 ERA+, 23.3 K%, 8.5 BB%, 3.75 xERA, 3.37 FIP, 3.34 xFIP, 4.0 fWAR, 3.8 bWAR

Rundown

Framber Valdez is a workhorse. He has thrown 767 2/3 innings over the last four seasons, second only to Logan Webb in that time. Plus, he’s providing quality with quantity.

Valdez ranked third in ERA (3.21) and first in wins (57) during that period. The advanced stats look good, too: he finished first in ground ball percentage (60.0), third in xFIP (3.20), second in HR allowed per nine innings (0.68), and fourth in fWAR (16.5).

In the three seasons before this one, Valdez finished within the top 10 in Cy Young voting. He was headed there again this year with a 2.62 ERA through 21 starts, but faltered down the stretch. In his last 10 appearances, he gave up 39 earned runs in 58 innings for a 6.05 ERA. It was one reason the Astros missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Valdez was involved in an incident that gained national attention during a Sept. 2 start against the Yankees. He appeared to shake off catcher Cesar Salazar on a 1-0 pitch with the bases loaded and Trent Grisham batting. Salazar then urged Valdez to step off, but he came home, and Grisham hit a grand slam.

On the second pitch to the next batter, Valdez hit Salazar in the chest with a 92 mph sinker. Valdez’s reaction after the pitch – he turned his back and looked frustrated – fueled speculation that he crossed up his catcher on purpose, perhaps annoyed with what happened in the Grisham at-bat. Both players said after the game that it was an honest mistake. Salazar said he pressed the wrong button on the PitchCom device and was expecting a curve.

In a separate situation, Valdez questioned the Astros’ defensive alignment after an RBI double into the right-field corner in a July 28 game against Washington.

“I saw the right fielder playing center field and, you know, we have a center fielder for that,” he told reporters through a Spanish interpreter after the 2-1 loss. “I feel like the right fielder should have been playing right field. I was uncomfortable with that.”

Valdez was asked if he talked to the coaches about the positioning: “I don’t have to ask the coaches about that. I feel like baseball is a game of common sense. With me as a lefty pitcher, they don’t hit a lot of fly balls against me.”

The Astros signed Valdez, who is from the Dominican Republic, as an international free agent in 2015 when he was 21. He debuted in 2018, pitching to a 2.19 ERA over 37 innings. He is 81-52 with a 3.36 ERA in his eight-year career. He was an All-Star in 2022, when he led the American League in innings pitched (201 1/3) and in 2023, when he threw a no-hitter against the Guardians.

He’s 7-6 with a 4.34 ERA in 85 innings pitched over 17 career postseason appearances (16 starts). He beat the Phillies twice, including in the Game 6 clincher, in the 2022 World Series.

Against the Mets, he’s 3-0 with a 1.63 ERA in four career starts. He threw seven shutout innings to earn a win on Opening Day of 2025.

Contract

Jim Bowden of The Athletic, a former GM of the Reds and Expos/Nationals, projects Valdez for a six-year, $190 million contract ($31.7 million AAV). For salary comps, Bowden lists Garrett Crochet (six years, $170 million), Tyler Glasnow (five years, $136.5 million), Carlos Rodon (six years, $162 million), and Blake Snell (five years, $182 million). A year ago, the Yankees signed Max Fried, a 30-year-old lefty who also had been an All-Star twice, to an eight-year, $218 million deal.

Valdez earned $18 million in 2025 on a one-year deal in his final year of arbitration eligibility. He has earned $40.4 million in his career.

Recommendation: Try to Sign

The price will be high, but Valdez is worth it. The Mets need an ace and an innings eater. Two birds, one stone. New York must be less dependent on the bullpen next year. The relievers threw 636 innings in 2025, third in MLB. The bullpen ERA was 3.93, which was 15th.

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