Framber Valdez

Starting pitcher Framber Valdez and the Houston Astros agreed to a one-year, $18 million contract to avoid arbitration on Thursday, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Valdez is in his final year of arbitration, meaning that he'll enter free agency at the end of the 2025 season.

Chandler Rome of The Athletic initially reported on Dec. 9 that the Astros were open to trading the 31-year-old before arbitration, but a deal never materialized.

Dana Brown, Houston's general manager, confirmed that the team was listening to offers but didn't believe that a trade would occur.

"If you're asking me if (I) think we're going to trade Valdez, I don't think we're going to trade Valdez," Brown said on Dec. 13, via Rome. "I think he's a pillar and it's really tough to keep a rotation intact."

The left-hander has developed into a key starter for the Astros, earning All-Star nods in 2022 and 2023 before finishing No. 7 in 2024 American League Cy Young Award voting.

In 28 starts last season, Valdez finished with a 15-7 record and a 2.91 ERA to go along with a career-best 1.106 WHIP. He racked up 169 strikeouts and 55 walks in 176.1 innings of work.

He particularly excelled down the stretch of the season, posting a 1.96 ERA in 12 starts following the All-Star break.

Valdez has spent all seven years of his career in Houston. He's been relatively durable despite a brief appearance on the injured list in April 2024 due to elbow issues, making at least 30 starts in each of the prior two seasons.

He'll be back with the Astros in 2025 as they attempt to earn a fifth consecutive AL West title, but he should receive plenty of interest once he hits free agency at the end of the year.

A host of good MLB starting pitchers are "potentially available" via trade, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

"According to sources, those pitchers potentially available include Seattle's Luis Castillo, Miami's Jesús Luzardo, San Diego's Dylan Cease, Houston's Framber Valdez and St. Louis' Sonny Gray," Feinsand wrote. "Of that group, Gray is the only one with a full no-trade clause in his contract."

Of course, that's in addition to solid arms already available via free agency, including Corbin Burnes, Max Fried and Jack Flaherty.

Feinsand broke down the contract situations for all four pitchers mentioned.

"Castillo is signed for $68.25 million over the next three years, with a vesting option for 2028 if he throws 180 innings during the 2027 season. The Mariners are loaded with starting pitching and need a bat, making Castillo a logical contract to move to acquire an impact hitter.

"Gray is set to make $25 million in 2025 and $35 million in 2026, with a $30 million club option for 2026.

"Cease and Valdez are arbitration-eligible for the final time this winter, set to become free agents next offseason. Like Crochet, Luzardo is under club control for two more years before becoming a free agent."

Castillo was brought into Seattle after a 2022 midseason trade from the Cincinnati Reds, and he immediately helped the Mariners make the playoffs for the first time since 2001. In September of the 2022 season, Castillo signed a five-year, $108 million extension to remain with the team.

But it appears Seattle, whose faltering offense torpedoed the team's postseason hopes last year, could be going in a different direction now with the M's in need of hitting.

Gray fared well in his first year for the St. Louis Cardinals after landing in town following an American League Cy Young runner-up season with the Minnesota Twins in 2023, going 13-9 with a 3.84 ERA and 109 ERA+.

But St. Louis tried to vault itself into the World Series with Paul Goldschmidt (a free agent) and Nolan Arenado leading the way. That didn't happen, and perhaps now is the time to look forward to a new era.

The situations with Cease and Valdez could very well be ones where the San Diego Padres and Houston Astros, respectively, want to see what they get on the trade market to avoid losing those pitchers for nothing in free agency. The Boston Red Sox appear to have interest in Cease, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network.

As for Luzardo, the Miami Marlins, as has been the case for seemingly forever, are in rebuilding mode. So they too could be looking to deal Luzardo in hopes of building up the farm system.

In essence, it wouldn't be a big surprise if some of these names move. Fans are already expecting the likes of Burnes and Fried to find new homes in free agency, but they could be flanked by others in the trade market as well.

The Houston Astros are reportedly open to hearing trade offers for two of their players this offseason.

Per The Athletic's Chandler Rome, Houston is "receiving trade inquiries" about outfielder Kyle Tucker and is open to dealing him along with starting pitcher Framber Valdez.

"Multiple people familiar with the club's thinking said (general manager Dana) Brown is open to dealing one of Tucker or starter Framber Valdez, both of whom are set to make more than $15 million during their final trip through the arbitration process," Rome wrote.

Astros general manager Dana Brown made it clear Houston isn't in a rush to trade anyone but is willing to listen to offers from other teams.

"We're not trying to aggressively move anybody out the door, but if someone wants to talk, that's part of being at the Winter Meetings," Brown said, per Rome. "Sometimes guys will think outside the box and say, 'Hey would you guys do this guy or that guy.' If it doesn't make sense, we wouldn't do it. It would really have to make sense. We're a good team and we're not motivated to move any of these guys."

Tucker, who will be 28 by the start of the 2025 season, had 23 home runs, 49 RBI, a .289 batting average and a .993 OPS last season despite playing just 78 games. In his last healthy season in 2023, Tucker had 29 homers and 112 RBI.

Given his age and caliber, a trade for Tucker could likely result in a haul of talented prospects.

The same goes for Valdez, who had the sixth-best ERA in the majors at 2.91 and recorded a 15-7 record across 28 appearances.

Brown also seems confident that the Astros would manage without either Tucker or Valdez saying he thinks Houston could win the division without one of the stars.

The Astros, two years removed from their last World Series victory, failed to reach the divisional series for the first time since 2016 last season and are searching for ways to improve. Parting with one of their key players could be an answer.

Houston Astros pitcher Framber Valdez has been placed on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation, according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle.

The All-Star left-hander "will not throw for one or two days" before his injury is reassessed, Kawahara reported.

Valdez was scratched before the Astros' 10-5 Monday win over the Texas Rangers due to a sore left elbow.

The loss of Valdez is a tough blow for an already thin rotation in Houston. The Astros started the season with four pitchers on the IL.

The news is additionally worrying for the Astros because Valdez has historically been the team's most stalwart pitcher.

Valdez has pitched 697 2/3 innings since the start of the 2020 season, the fourth-highest total among all MLB pitchers, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.

Another Astros concern will be a lack of reliable replacements for the two-time All-Star. Triple-A right-hander Blair Henley, who made his first MLB start in Valdez's absence, was pulled after just a third of an inning after facing nine Rangers and allowing five earned runs.

The Astros initially reported an optimistic assessment of Valdez's injury. General manager Dana Brown said Monday that Valdez had reported his pain level as being "a little below the medium side" and predicted he would just need to miss one start, per McTaggart.

Instead, Valdez will join starters Justin Verlander, José Urquidy, Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. on the IL.

The Astros will hope some of these missing starters will be returning to the roster soon.

The Athletic's Chandler Rome reported April 1 that Garcia was throwing pitches and was "ahead of schedule" in recovery from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last May.

Both he and McCullers, who underwent forearm surgery last June, are aiming for "midseason" returns, per Kawahara.

Urquidy could return in May from a right forearm strain, Kawahara reported.

Verlander is began a rehab stint with Houston's Triple-A affiliate Saturday, indicating he could rejoin the club this month.

The Astros will now hope the reassessment of Valdez's injury reveals more good injury news later this week.

Valdez had pitched 12.1 innings, earning a 2.19 ERA while striking out 10 and allowing 11 hits and six walks, in two no-decision Astros losses prior to his injury.

Houston Astros All-Star pitcher Framber Valdez will miss his scheduled start on Monday due to right elbow soreness, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.

Per that report, Valdez will be "evaluated by doctors to determine the severity of the injury."

According to Leah Vann of the Houston Chronicle, Valdez first noticed soreness at the top of his elbow while playing catch on Sunday, and the pain extended into Monday.

"The fact we didn't put him on the [Injured List] is a good sign, we'll see what the doctors say," manager Joe Espada told reporters.

Given the spate of elbow injuries around baseball already this season—which already claimed stars like Eury Perez, Shane Bieber and Spencer Strider within the past week, while players like Shohei Ohtani, Jacob deGrom, Sandy Alcantara, Robbie Ray, Gerrit Cole, Shane McClanahan and Andrew Painter, among others, are all currently recovering from elbow injuries—any news of elbow soreness will be alarming for Astros fans.

Valdez, an All-Star in 2022 and 2023, started the season strong, giving up just three runs in 11 innings across his first two starts while striking out 10. He was instrumental in Houston's 2020 World Series title, going 3-0 in four starts that October with a 1.44 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 33 strikeouts in 25 innings.

If he was sidelined with an elbow injury it would be a massive blow to an Astros team that has limped out to a 3-7 start this season.

In his absence on Monday, Blair Henley will make his MLB debut in the team's series finale against the Texas Rangers.

Although the Houston Astros are reportedly listening to offers for left-hander Framber Valdez, they aren't expecting to deal him this offseason (via Bob Nightengale of USA Today).

"The Houston Astros don't plan to trade co-ace Framber Valdez, at least not this winter, but they are listening, with more than five teams already checking in on him."

The 30-year-old has been named an All-Star in each of the past two seasons while finishing fifth in American League Cy Young voting in 2022.

This past season, Valdez finished with a 12-11 record in 31 starts while maintaining an ERA of 3.45. He recorded a career-high 200 strikeouts against 57 walks in 198 innings pitched.

Although his regular season production has been excellent, Valdez's postseason performance in 2023 left a lot to be desired. He lost all three of his starts, including a pivotal Game 6 defeat against the Texas Rangers in the ALCS. Valdez posted a 9.00 ERA, allowing 4 home runs in 12 innings while opposing batters racked up a 1.037 OPS against him. With the Astros currently projected to have the sixth-highest payroll in 2024, they could move him for financial reasons (via Spotrac).

However, it doesn't appear that Houston is set on trading him unless an opposing front office makes an extremely large offer. Astros general manager Dana Brown spoke about his desire to keep Valdez and right-fielder Kyle Tucker back in March when working on extensions for the two players.

"We're just waiting to close, waiting to see what's going to happen," Brown said, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. "I would love to get both of them done."

Although the sides weren't able to reach an extension agreement at the time, Houston's front office likely views Valdez in a similar way after he delivered another strong season at Minute Maid Park.