Why it doesn't matter how Framber Valdez performs for rest of contract duration with Tigers

When the Detroit Tigers signed Framber Valdez during the offseason, the idea was that he was going to help the team make a run at the World Series in 2026. He was meant to complete one of the best five-man rotations in baseball by joining Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, Jack Flaherty, and Justin Verlander.

Now, that dream has been blown to smithereens. It really doesn’t matter how he does in 2027 or 2028, because he blew it when it mattered most.

Valdez has a 4.35 ERA on the season in 26 starts. That’s the worst ERA of his career since becoming a full-time starter, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if this is the start of a slow decline through the rest of his career.

He signed a three-year, $115 million deal with a player opt-out after 2027, and at this rate, the Tigers have to be hoping he will have a slightly better campaign next year and then exercise that opt-out so they can be rid of him.

The most memorable thing he’s done in a Tigers uniform is throw at someone on purpose, which shouldn’t come as a shock considering one of the reasons he remained unsigned in free agency for so long is because there were serious character concerns about him. The cross-up incident with César Salazar will follow Valdez around for the rest of his career.

Framber Valdez is not the Tigers' only problem, but he's one of the biggest

Of course, Valdez is not the only reason the Tigers have come up short of their goals this season. There’s a whole litany of reasons, but Valdez just so happens to be one of the more expensive ones.

At least Valdez has been healthy for pretty much the whole year. That’s a positive compared to the rest of Detroit’s rotation this year. He will also at least be one member of the rotation they know will be under contract next year, since they already traded away Skubal and Mize.

But unless the Tigers make some big moves in the offseason, 2027 does not seem like a year where the team will really contend. The team pushed all its chips in on 2026, and now it has blown up. Maybe having Valdez around for at least one more year is something like karma.

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