Houston Astros ace Framber Valdez appears destined for free agency as contract talks are reportedly completely silent.
Now, many are wondering what the market will look like for a 31-year-old lefty. MLB insider Jon Heyman broke down the numbers and believes it could be similar to a recent southpaw signing in free agency.
“I’m sure they’re going to compare him to Max Fried, who got the record for a left-handed free agent at age 32, $218 million,” Heyman said on MLB Network. “Framber is 31 years old, and I think he’s quite a bit underrated. Since 2020, he has the most wins, and this is a little bit of a surprise, the most innings pitched per start, even above (Zack) Wheeler and (Logan) Webb. … Certainly the Astros or almost any other big-market team could be in play for Framber.”
Fried just set the record last offseason, and there’s a strong chance Valdez will break it this upcoming offseason. Baseball Savant shows the Astros’ lefty being in the 98th percentile for inducing ground balls. His strikeout percentile is on the lower end, down in the 57th percentile, but getting grounders allows him to go deep into games.
The Astros know it will take a strong offer to ensure Valdez doesn’t fall into someone else’s hands. Spotrac estimates his next deal to be six years worth $204.9 million, an average of $34.2 million. That’s slightly below Fried’s deal, but Valdez will be the best lefty starter on the market, so someone will likely surpass that projection.
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