LAKELAND, FL – There are normal dinners.
Then there are the huge ones. And this one could turn out to be the most important couple hours of the season for the Detroit Tigers.
Because it has the potential to change everything.
During the free agent process – the true wine-and-dine portion – Tigers manager A.J. Hinch flew to Florida and took Framber Valdez out to dinner. “I have a lot of history with him, obviously, as you know, first manager he had and I just wanted to connect with him, and I think vice versa,” Hinch said.
Spoiler alert: it worked.
Valdez signed a three-year, $115 million contract with the Tigers.
“He’s a great recruiter,” Tigers president Scott Harris said of Hinch. “That was a really important step in the recruitment of Framber.”
First of all, Valdez was impressed that Hinch took the time to visit him.
“Tremendous impact for me,” Valdez said through an interpreter, his agent Ulises Cabrera. “For a guy of A.J.’s stature to come visit me.”
They talked old times. Back in Houston. But the focus was on the future.
Hinch told Valdez about the Tigers’ culture – they’ve got a young roster with playoff experience.
How Valdez could impact the team – he will fit perfectly with Tarik Skubal, giving the Tigers one of the best one-two punches in baseball.
Their plan for winning – hello Justin Verlander.
“It was really inspiring for him that he would do that,” Valdez said through Cabrera. “It was one of the key factors of him wanting to decide to be in Detroit.”
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But for Hinch, it was just cool to meet with Valdez again.
“He’s come from the bottom up,” Hinch said. “A lot of people doubted him from his signing date all the way to getting him to the big leagues, and then he’s flourished into one of the best pitchers in baseball. So that meeting for me was, you know, to see how his life’s changed, see how his family’s doing, see what’s interesting to him in terms of the team he was about to choose and lay out our team. What he would mean to this team if he signed here. So had a good meal with them, spent a few hours with them, and talked a little bit about old times, but a lot about what’s ahead.”
What’s ahead?
That part is fascinating.
Valdez helps the Tigers in countless ways. He is an absolute workhorse, capable of eating up innings, throwing at least 175 innings in each of the past four seasons. That has a tremendous impact on a team. It helps save a bullpen and sets up everything.
“Framber has been elite in so many ways,” Harris said. “He’s pitched on the biggest stages. The lights have never been too bright for him, and he has won a ton in his career. This organization is all about winning and adding a winner like Framber Valdez instantly elevates our entire organization, it elevates our rotation and elevates our entire team.”
Valdez has received AL Cy Young votes in three of the past four seasons.
“He’s flourished into one of the best pitchers in baseball,” Hinch said.
So, Harris went to owner Chris Ilitch and asked him to crack open his wallet.
Now, you have to remember the timing. At that moment, the Tigers were in salary arbitration with Tarik Skubal.
“When you call (Ilitch) before the hearing result of arbitration is released and ask for a very significant investment, the biggest investment that we’ve made in a player since I’ve been here, and he’s more fired up than you are on the other end of the phone call,” Harris said. “That’s really energizing. He’s as passionate as it gets.”
Valdez also addressed a controversial cross-up moment that happened on Sept. 2, 2025. He threw a 92.8 mph sinker that hit catcher César Salazar in the chest when it looked like Salazar was expecting an off-speed pitch.
“Heat of the moment,” he said through his agent. “Adrenaline was going. I did my best to apologize after the fact. I was focused in the game to get the last out when we got into the dugout, I communicated that was my mistake. Fortunately, we still continue to be friends.”
Hinch has no concerns.
“He’s an incredible competitor, and I think sometimes the emotions come with that,” Hinch said. “I know he brings it every five or six days and wants to pitch deep into the game, and that the production is there. The personality is there, and his preparations incredible. So you put all that together and we’re bringing him into our clubhouse with open arms and are expecting him to do his part to help us win.”
Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How A.J. Hinch wined and dined Framber Valdez onto Detroit Tigers
Reporting by Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
