Surprise Tigers injury news has Framber Valdez signing making a lot more sense

The Detroit Tigers shocked the baseball world this week when they signed coveted free agent Framber Valdez to a contract featuring the highest annual salary ever for a left-handed pitcher. But suddenly, what first looked like a luxury now looks a lot more like foresight.

News from Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press that right-hander Reese Olson might not be ready for Opening Day landed with a thud this week — and instantly reframed how fans should be viewing Detroit’s aggressive offseason signing of Valdez.

Olson’s shoulder issues date back to last July, when he went down and never returned. Yes, he began throwing again in December. No, that doesn’t mean he’s anywhere close to being stretched out to face big-league lineups every fifth day.

The numbers tell you why the Tigers were right to be cautious. Olson hasn’t topped 22 appearances in a season since debuting in 2023, and shoulder injuries are notoriously unforgiving when it comes to timelines.

When healthy, Olson has been legitimately good — a 3.15 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and strong strike-throwing ability before going down last season. But availability matters, and right now, Detroit simply doesn’t know when (or how reliably) they’ll get him back. That uncertainty matters a lot more when you’re trying to win in 2026.

Reese Olson injury update makes Framber Valdez even more essential to Tigers' rotation

Take Olson out of the early-season picture, and the Tigers were staring at a rotation that would’ve been walking a tightrope. Asking young arms to cover innings in April while managing workloads is often how seasons quietly unravel.

But having Valdez in the mix changes everything. Instead of scrambling, Detroit can now absorb Olson’s absence without panic. Valdez slots in as a stabilizer — a pitcher who takes the ball, eats innings, and prevents the exact kind of early-season bullpen strain that can haunt teams by August.

If Olson isn’t ready by Opening Day, Troy Melton is the logical bridge at the back of the rotation. That’s a far more comfortable conversation when Melton is filling in behind Valdez and Tarik Skubal rather than being asked to hold the rotation together. The Tigers aren’t rushing Olson, aren’t overexposing Melton, and aren’t asking their bullpen to cover five innings every other night.

So, in retrospect, the Valdez signing was never about disrespecting Skubal. It was never about optics. It was about insulating a rotation full of talent — and question marks — from exactly this kind of situation.

Pitching depth isn’t a luxury in modern baseball. It’s insurance. And with Olson’s shoulder now clouding the early part of the season, the Tigers’ biggest offseason swing suddenly looks less like an aggressive flex and more like a front office reading the room.

Spring training will bring clearer timelines. But one thing is already certain: Valdez didn’t just raise Detroit’s ceiling — he may have quietly saved its floor.