Detroit Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez has been suspended five games for intentionally throwing at Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story, and Tigers manager A.J. Hinch has been suspended one game.
Major League Baseball announced a six-game suspension (and an undisclosed fine) for Valdez on Wednesday, May 6, less than 24 hours after the hit-by-pitch incident occurred Tuesday in the Tigers’ 10-3 loss to the Red Sox at Comerica Park.
The suspension was reduced to five game within 90 minutes, but it’s unclear if Valdez formally appealed.
Hinch will complete his one-game suspension in Wednesday’s game against the Red Sox, with bench coach George Lombard replacing him as the manager. Valdez will begin serving his five-game suspension Wednesday, ruling him out for Sunday’s scheduled start against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
“It was not intentional. It was not on purpose,” Valdez said after Tuesday’s game. “It might look like that, but it wasn’t.”
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The 32-year-old was ejected in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s game after benches and bullpens cleared as a result of the hit-by-pitch, immediately following back-to-back home runs.
The pitch that hit Story?
It was Valdez’s first four-seam fastball of the 2026 season.
“I was trying to use the fastball as a backup plan because I got to do something different against them,” Valdez said. “Again, it might look like it was on purpose, but it wasn’t.”
Hinch didn’t dispute the umpires decision to eject Valdez from Tuesday’s game.
“I understand,” Hinch said after Tuesday’s game. “I understand their frustration. I understand the optics. I understand the whole thing. We play a really good brand of baseball here. That didn’t feel like it. That’s not judging intent. I have no idea. But I know when you go out on the field, and you end up in those confrontations, you usually feel like you’re in your right. It didn’t feel good being out there.”
Valdez didn’t agree with the decision.
“It’s completely unfair,” Valdez said. “First of all, they should have given me a warning.”
After a five-game suspension, Valdez is eligible to return to the Tigers on May 14 in the second of three games against the New York Mets at Citi Field. So far, he owns a 4.57 ERA in eight starts this season.
The Tigers aren’t allowed to add an extra pitcher to their roster while Valdez serves his suspension, meaning they’ll operate with 12 pitchers and 13 position players for a 25-man roster – rather than a 26-man roster.
“I do not expect to get suspended,” said Valdez, who signed a three-year, $115 million contract with the Tigers in early February. “If it would have been on purpose, I would have gone towards the hitter, saying something, yelling something, threatening them or something like that, which didn’t happen. I was just calm, staying out of the situation. I even left the field in a quiet way because, of course, it was not on purpose.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Framber Valdez, A.J. Hinch suspended for drilling Red Sox hitter
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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