00:00Ladies and gentlemen, Tigers fans, we have some absolutely massive news to talk about.
00:05Our Detroit Tigers rotation, already led by the best starting pitcher in the American
00:10League in Tarek Skubal, is on the verge of becoming even more fearsome, according to
00:14sources at MLB.com.
00:16On Wednesday, the Tigers have agreed to a three-year, $115 million deal with star left-hander
00:23Frambois Valdez.
00:25The club hasn't officially confirmed it yet, as the deal is pending a physical, and it
00:29includes an opt-out clause, after the 22s and our Andy Sertoriksen, Saktornmani, Adresofen,
00:37Edita Satsun.
00:38This is a game-changer.
00:40Looking at our projected rotation, Rhys Olsen could have the inside track for that number
00:44five spot.
00:45He's on track to be ready after suffering a season-ending right shoulder strain.
00:49In 2025, we also have options like Drew Anderson and Troy Melton in the mix.
00:55Here's a crucial point.
00:56Among the first four names in the rotation, Valdez is the only pitcher who would be under
01:01contract past 2026.
01:03In the immediate future, he and Skubal could form one of the very best 1-2 pitching punches
01:09in all of baseball.
01:10Let me tell you about our new ace, Frambois Valdez, who turned 32 on November 19th, spent
01:16his first eight major league seasons with the Houston Astros.
01:19Interestingly, his first two years there from 2018 to 2019 were under our own current manager
01:25A.J.
01:26Hinch.
01:26Valdez has since established himself as one of baseball's most consistent starters.
01:31His formula for success in the majors combines solid strikeout numbers with a heavy dose of
01:35ground balls.
01:37Since the beginning of the 2020 season, Valdez has posted a stellar 3.23 ERA over 973 innings.
01:44Think about that workload.
01:46Only four pitchers in baseball have thrown more innings than him over the past six years.
01:52His 128 ERA plus in that span ranks eighth among all pitchers with at least 100 starts.
01:58And since 2021, which was his first extended campaign, as a full-time starter in Houston's
02:04rotation, he has recorded 18.3 FWAR.
02:09That ranks ninth among all pitchers in that time frame.
02:12For perspective, our own Tarek Skubal, with 19.4 FWAR, ranks sixth.
02:19His 2025 campaign marked the third time in four years.
02:23He reached the 30-start plateau.
02:25He finished with a 3.66 ERA and 187 strikeouts over 192 innings.
02:32After the season, the Astros tendered a qualifying offer to Valdez which he declined.
02:36That qualifying offer would have paid him 22 taum, what he bought he'd now in quotes and
02:4125 in his finances.
02:46A now spring on it a mal-lones for now.
02:48And because he declined it, Houston will receive a draft pick after the fourth round as compensation.
02:53Valdez's journey is a great story.
02:55He signed as an international free agent in 2015 and moved relatively quickly through Houston's
03:00farm system.
03:01But he was never a high-profile prospect, and there were real doubts about whether he'd
03:05stick as a starter in the majors.
03:07His initial performance showed that uncertainty, with a 4.60 ERA over 34 games, 13 of them starts,
03:15across 2018 and 2019.
03:18But everything changed in the shortened 2020 campaign.
03:22He broke out in a huge way, capably assuming the ace role after Houston lost Garrett Cole
03:27to free agency, and saw Justin Verlander go down with an elbow injury that led to Tommy
03:32John surgery.
03:33Valdez's best season came in 2022.
03:36He recorded a 2.82 ERA with 194 strikeouts over an American League-leading 201 and one-third
03:44innings during the regular season.
03:46That performance earned him a fifth-place finish in the AL Cy Young race.
03:50He was even more dominant in the playoffs, putting up a 1.44 ERA over four starts, and helping
03:56the Astros win the World Series.
03:58And that brings us to our Tigers.
04:00We have similar championship aspirations in 2026, coming off a 2025 season where we came
04:06just one win shy of advancing to the AL Championship Series.
04:10This offseason, we've already fortified the pitching staff by signing Drew Anderson to
04:14a one-year deal, and relievers Kenley Jansen and Kyle Finnegan.
04:17But signing Frambois Valdez, this is a substantial splash.
04:21This is a move that could pay major, major dividends for Detroit, as we push for October
04:26glory this year.
04:27So what's your level of excitement now for this 1-2 punch of Scooble and Valdez at the
04:32top of our rotation?
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