LAKELAND, FL — The Detroit Tigers have a different buzz this spring with Dominican left-handed pitcher Framber Valdez in the fold. Not only is he on the ballot for the prestigious 2025 American League LatinoMVP Pitcher of the Year Award, he also will be a dependable second starting pitcher behind Tarik Skubal.
The 32-year-old’s deal came late in the offseason with a record breaking contract for a Latin American pitcher in terms of Average Annual Value at $38.3 million. In total, the deal includes three-years/$115 million with an opt out after two years.
Valdez, born in Palenque, Dominican Republic, signing with the Houston Astros as an international free agent in 2015 out of the D.R., now gets to reunite with Tigers’ manager A.J. Hinch, who was the skipper in Houston for five years from 2015-2020. Valdez was only on the MLB roster for the final two seasons of Hinch’s tenure in Houston as he didn’t fully break out until 2021.
“We believe that he is an impactful guy and given that I have history with him, his transition and our welcome to him has been really easy,” Hinch told Latino Sports yesterday during Tigers spring training camp.
His addition pushes the Tigers rotation into elite status as it will be tough to get by the one-two of Skubal-Valdez in any postseason series if Detroit was to appear in October. The Tigers also reunited with franchise icon and future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander but Valdez is the real needle mover at this point in his career.
Valdez will also benefit from pitching in the pitcher friendly confines of Comerica Park in Detroit as opposed to Houston with the short “Crawford Boxes” in left field.
“It was an amazing addition, he’s an unbelievable pitcher and presence,” outfielder Jahmai Jones said of Valdez. “The fact that he bolstered our pitching staff that was already really good makes it an exciting time to have him.”
Valdez threw a bullpen yesterday, Thursday, February 20th, and is still in the process of learning his new catchers with the Tigers. He was locked in and going over data with Detroit’s coaching staff in between pitches on their Ipads. Everyone around Valdez was paying close attention to his session to see what he has to offer to Detroit.
The Tigers made the postseason for the second straight season in 2025, but their Game 5 exit in the ALDS against the Seattle Mariners in 15 innings still stings in that clubhouse. With Valdez in the fold, Detroit will once again be among the American League’s best teams and perhaps all of MLB. Valdez also provides something that most Tigers don’t currently have. He won a World Series ring in 2022 with the Astros and will be a strong source of leadership to their younger pitchers.
Valdez and Skubal are not only the best lefty pitching combo in MLB, but arguably the best one-two punch overall. Tigers fans should be excited to see Valdez rocking the “Old English D,” it’s already showing to suit him well early on.
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