Surprising news in the world of baseball.
The Detroit Tigers have managed, according to what Jeff Passan reported, to get their hands on the services of Framber Valdez. The pitcher signed a three-year, $115 million contract with the Michigan club, which was not talked about in the file.
At $38.33 million, it’s a record for a left-handed pitcher in sports history. The launcher has an option to exit in two years.
The Tigers, by force of circumstances, are preparing for the inevitable departure of Tarik Skubal. The latter was entitled to his arbitration session this afternoon. It is not yet known whether he won or not, but the contract offered to Valdez suggests that the pitcher lost.
Or he won and he will be traded?
In any case, it is no coincidence that the Tigers waited until after the arbitration session for Skubal (who will earn $19 million or $32 million in 2026) to sign Valdez, who was the last big piece on the market.
I also have the feeling that Valdez did not want to sign in Baltimore. It would have been the logical destination for him.
But hey. Right now, AJ Hinch (who managed Valdez in Houston in the past) has one of the best duos in major league baseball on his hands. The Tigers have a good team and having such a duo at the top of the rotation is worth gold.
The Tigers will have a big club in 2026, anyway.
Remember that training camps will begin next week for pitchers. So Valdez (who followed the trend of a short contract with a high salary average) decided it was time to sign.
