A Stark Reality Check for Tigers: Framber Valdez's Unsettling Truth

When the Detroit Tigers signed former Houston Astros ace Framber Valdez, it wasn’t just any ordinary free agent deal. They gave him the highest average annual value (AAV) ever given to a left-handed pitcher in free agency, making him the expected ace of the team when Tarik Skubal leaves. The national media crowned them the best one-two punch in baseball, which wasn’t entirely unfounded on paper.

But the Astros know better than anyone how high-risk this deal was, not just for his pitching, but also for his behavior. And now, Astros fans are getting a kick out of watching him struggle, with the Michael Jackson popcorn gif being used frequently whenever his name comes up.

Let’s get to the numbers: His ERA through 14 starts is an unimpressive 4.40, and the Tigers have lost seven of his last eight outings. For $38.3 million per year and a supposed ace alongside Skubal, that’s far from what the Tigers expected.

It’s not just the numbers that are a concern. Framber Valdez’s career has been built around keeping the ball on the ground with an impressive 60.9% ground ball rate. However, this season, it’s dropped to 49.6%, and his fly ball rate has surged to 32.1% from 22.8% last year. We all know what happens when fly balls aren’t caught – they go out of the park. And that’s especially true when his stuff isn’t what it used to be, as evident from his strikingly low 17.9% strikeout rate.

The Astros have been through this before. Last season, Valdez was incredibly valuable, but not without issues. He had a 2.62 ERA through July and a remarkable 1.84 ERA from May 7 to July 28, during which the Astros went 13-1. But the end of the season was quite the opposite – a 6.05 ERA in his last 10 starts with 46 strikeouts, 24 walks, and 66 hits allowed in 58 innings.

He’s a talented two-time All-Star, with Cy Young and MVP votes to his name. When he’s good, he’s really good. But when he’s bad, it’s quite ugly. And that’s what the Tigers got themselves into by paying him such a high price.

Beyond the performance, there’s also the issue of his temper. In a recent game, he threw at Trevor Story after allowing back-to-back home runs. The benches cleared, and Valdez got suspended for six games (later reduced to five on appeal), with Astros manager AJ Hinch also getting a one-game suspension.

This isn’t the first time Valdez has gotten into trouble. Last year, he hit Cesar Salazar in the chest after ignoring the catcher’s signal to step off the mound. He and his agent dismissed it as an innocent mistake, but teammates reportedly confronted him over it, and coaches had to intervene. He didn’t even break his silence on the incident until the offseason.

The Astros gave him a qualifying offer, but he was never going to accept it, so there was no real risk in letting him go. They knew what kind of talent they were losing, but it wasn’t just about the numbers – it was about the risk they were taking on.

As it turns out, Valdez is set to face the Astros themselves when the Tigers come to town. It’s anyone’s guess which Valdez will show up, but as Astros fans are probably happy to see, that’s part of the fun with a pitcher like him.

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