Framber Valdez’ $115M Detroit Tigers Deal Tightens AL Central Race
HOUSTON, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 20: Framber Valdez #59 of the Houston Astros walks onto the field prior to the game against the Seattle Mariners at Daikin Park on September 20, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)
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Major League Baseball’s American League Central Division just got much tighter. More competitive.
Pending him passing a physical, the Detroit Tigers will sign left-handed starter, Framber Valdez, to a $115M three-year free agent contract.
Valdez, the last of the major free agents to sign a new contract, will receive a $20M signing bonus, as well as the ability to opt-out of his new Tigers contract after the second season.
Valdez will also receive deferred payments in the deal, which is becoming the norm for high value contracts.
Two significant factors stand out about the Valdez deal.
-First, adding the high quality/high profile Valdez to the Tigers rotation gives the team an outstanding one-two punch at the top of their rotation.
Valdez will join lefty Tarik Skubal, the Tigers All Star, and Cy Young Award winning starter.
CLEVELAND, OHIO – JULY 04, 2025: Manager A.J. Hinch #14 of the Detroit Tigers talks to the media prior to a game against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on July 04, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by George Kubas/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
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-Secondly, Valdez will be reunited with manager A.J. Hinch, who was Valdez’ manager when the two were together with the Houston Astros.
It is likely Hinch offered a very favorable recommendation to the Tigers front office regarding what Valdez can bring to Detroit.
If there are no further changes to the 26-man roster this season, fangraphs.com projects the Tigers 2026 salary payroll will be $209M, up from their $155M payroll from 2025.
Tarik Skubal is now in his final year with the Tigers. If the Tigers do not sign Skubal to an extension, he can become a free agent at the conclusion of the World Series.
The Tigers may have signed Valdez as an insurance policy if they fail to sign Skubal.
If the Tigers elect to trade Skubal between now and the August 3 trade deadline, they will likely be able to add significant player depth to their organization.
fangraphs.com lists the potential opening day starting rotation for the Tigers as follows:
CLEVELAND, OHIO – OCTOBER 02: Tarik Skubal #29 of the Detroit Tigers celebrates after defeating the Cleveland Guardians 6-3 in game three of the American League Wild Card Series at Progressive Field on October 02, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
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Tarik Skubal-LHP-Age 29
Framber Valdez-LHP-Age 32
Jack Flaherty-RHP-Age 30
Casey Mize-RHP-Age 28
Reese Olson-RHP-Age 26
The Tigers also added free agent right-handed closer Kenley Jansen and righty Drew Anderson to their bullpen in December 2025.
American League Central Division Additions:
The American League Central teams have been relatively active this offseason. Here are the consequential additions to each Central team:
Detroit Tigers:
Framber Valdez-LHSP-Age 32
Kenley Jansen-RHRP-Age 38
Drew Anderson-RHRP-Age 31
Chicago White Sox:
Munetaka Murakami-1B-Age 26
Austin Hays-OF-Age 30
Luisangel Acuna-INF/OF-Age 23
Everson Peralta-OF-Age 24
Anthony Kay-LHSP-Age 30
Sean NewComb-LHSP-Age 32
Seranthony Dominguez-LHRP-Age 32
Cleveland Guardians:
Shawn Armstrong-RHRP-Age 35
Connor Brogdon-RHRP-Age 31
Peyton Pallette-RHRP-Age 24
Kansas City Royals:
Isaac Collins-OF-Age 28
Lane Thomas-OF-Age 30
Matt Strahm-LHRP-Age 34
Nick Mears-RHRP-Age 29
Alex Lange-RHRP-Age 30
Minnesota Twins:
Josh Bell-1B-Age 33
Victor Caratinie-DH/C-Age 32
Eric Wagaman-INF/OF-Age 28
Taylor Rogers-LHRP-Age 35
Eric Orze-RHRP-Age 28
Jackson Kowar-RHRP-Age 29
Last Year’s Division Results:
The addition of Framber Valdez can certainly close the one-game 2025 gap between the Tigers and Guardians in the American League Central.
Cleveland stormed from behind to overtake Detroit, with a record of 88-74.
Here are the final 2025 American League Central standings:
Cleveland Guardians=88-74
Detroit Tigers=87-75
Kansas City Royals=82-80
Minnesota Twins=70-82
Chicago White Sox=60-102
The American League Central could be much closer this coming season.
Clearly, the Tigers have improved with Valdez and Jansen.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – DECEMBER 22: Munetaka Murakami #5 of the Chicago White Sox celebrates signing his first Major League Baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox by holding up a sock at Rate Field on December 22, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
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The White Sox added significant depth to their young team. Japanese star Munetaka Murakami is an unknown. Will he slug home runs in the Windy City? Will a high strikeout total hamper his season?
The Guardians will rely upon their young prospects to continue their successful late season graduations to the big leagues. Adding new bullpen arms could be crucial. Do they have enough offense?
The Royals have strengthened their bullpen, and added some bats.
The Twins hope they can use solid pitching to stay competitive.
Conclusions:
It will be exciting to watch the American League Central Division unfold in the coming season.
The addition of highly capable left-handed pitcher Framber Valdez to the Detroit Tigers rotation puts them in a better spot to catch the entire American League Central in 2026.
