Framber Valdez is finally off the market.
Valdez has agreed to a three-year, $115 million deal with the Detroit Tigers, according to multiple reports.
The contract includes an opt-out after the second season, as well as deferrals, according to The Athletic.
Valdez’s new deal is the highest average annual value ever for a southpaw and the highest for a Latin American hurler.
The Dominican starter has spent all eight seasons of his career with the Houston Astros, with whom he made two All-Star teams and posted an ERA of 3.20 since 2021. Valdez’s move to Detroit will reunite him with his former manager in Houston, A.J. Hinch.
The 32-year-old Valdez is tied for first in the majors in wins (73), is sixth in pitcher WAR (20.3), fifth in innings pitched (973) and first in groundball rate (62%) since becoming a full-time starter in 2020, according to ESPN. He also won a World Series in 2022.
Valdez joins a rotation currently led by ace and fellow lefty Tariq Skubal, who’s undergoing arbitration with the Tigers. Detroit is coming off a wild-card berth last season and a division series appearance, where the team lost to the Seattle Mariners in five games.
The Astros will receive a compensatory pick for losing Valdez after the ace declined the team’s $22.025 million qualifying offer before the Nov. 18 deadline.
–Field Level Media
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