Tigers Signing Framber Valdez on Massive 3-Year, $115 Million Deal Stuns Fans: “They’re Definitely Moving Skubal”

The Detroit Tigers on Wednesday added Framber Valdez to their pitching rotation on a huge 3-year, $115 million deal.

Tigers Signing Framber Valdez on Massive 3-Year, $115 Million Deal Stuns Fans: “They’re Definitely Moving Skubal”

Framber Valdez (Image via X/@BRWalkoff)

After a long offseason, Framber Valdez finally has a new club. On Wednesday, the Detroit Tigers landed the left-handed pitcher on a massive 3-year, $115 million deal. This development left the MLB fans stunned on social media.

Valdez, the former World Series champion with the Houston Astros, was one of the big free-agent starting pitchers available on the market. Despite his impressive skillset, there was no major buzz regarding his free agency.

With the Spring Training around the corner, the Tigers snatched him. The American League Central side signed him on a 3-year, $115 million deal with a reported Average Annual Value (AAV) of $38.3 million. This is the highest AAV for a left-handed pitcher. It is also the highest AAV for any Latin American pitcher.

This deal brought an official end to his tenure with the Astros. The southpaw spent the previous 8 seasons with the American League West side and made his name there.

In 2023, he threw his first career no-hitter. On August 1, against the Cleveland Guardians, he became the first left-handed pitcher in the Astros’ franchise history to throw a no-hitter. It was the 16th no-hit game in the Astros’ history.

Last season, an on-field incident saw him come under the spotlight. In a game against the New York Yankees, he ended up hitting his own catcher, Cesar Salazar, after giving up a grand slam to Trent Grisham.

The breakdown in communication between the two teammates saw Salazar get drilled in the midsection. Fans would attack the pitcher and accuse him of intentionally hitting the catcher. He would later apologize for this situation.

Speaking of the 2025 season, Valdez went 13-11 in 31 starts, posting a 3.66 ERA over 192.0 innings. He picked up 187 strikeouts while having 20 quality starts.

After the Astros missed the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade, the team would offer him a qualifying offer. He would turn that down and officially become a free agent. He will now gear up for the Tigers in the AL Central division in the upcoming season.

Social media reacts to Tigers signing Framber Valdez on $115 million deal

Framber Valdez’s $115 million deal with the Detroit Tigers stunned several fans. Many users on social media would take a swipe at the organization for this.

Framber Valdez
Framber Valdez 9Image via MLB)

This deal of Valdez comes at a time when the Tigers declined to pay $32 million in salary to Tarik Skubal. The 2-time Cy Young Award winner and the team were $13 million apart in arbitration, the largest gap in arbitration history.

Fans on X would point this out and question the team. Many wondered why the team agreed to pay Valdez more than their ace pitcher. One user wrote, “They’re definitely moving skubal” while reacting to this.

Check out that and some other reactions from X below:

Speaking of Skubal, a decision regarding his arbitration hearing is reported to take place on Thursday. It will then be revealed how much he will earn during the 2026 season.

Tarik Skubal sends message to Framber Valdez following his $115 million deal

The Detroit Tigers boosted their pitching rotation on Wednesday with the signing of Framber Valdez. Following his $115 million deal, Tarik Skubal would send a message to the 2-time All-Star on social media.

Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez
Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez (Image via ESPN/MLB)

Taking to his Instagram stories, Skubal shared a post of MLB announcing the Valdez deal. The 29-year-old pitcher dropped a short message to his new teammate while welcoming him to the club.

Dinners on you @framber_valdez_pinales

Tarik Skubal told Framber Valdez
Tarik Skubal's message to Framber Valdez
Tarik Skubal’s message to Framber Valdez (Image via Instagram/@tarikskubal)

Skubal and Valdez are expected to form a dominant 1-2 punch for the Tigers in the 2026 season. Along with these two, their pitching rotation is expected to consist of Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize and Reese Olson.

Last year, the Tigers blew a massive division lead and lost the AL Central title to the Guardians. However, they had the last laugh over them as they eliminated the Cleveland-based side in the Wild Card Series.

The Tigers then took on the Seattle Mariners in the American League Division Series (ALDS). Despite a strong performance from Skubal in Game 5, the Tigers ended up losing the game as the Mariners walked them off in the 15th inning and eliminated them from the postseason.

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