HOUSTON – Detroit Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez received a warm welcome from the Houston Astros.
The Astros showcased a 98-second tribute video before the opener of a three-game series Monday, June 16, at Daikin Park, headlined by the return of Valdez after he signed a three-year, $115 million contract with the Tigers in free agency.
But what about the Astros?
“We didn’t have any kind of negotiations,” Valdez said in Spanish before Monday’s game, interpreted by team employee Carlos Guillén. “I just had talks and conversations with the teams that were interested in me, and I ended up with the Tigers.”
The Astros never contacted Valdez after he reached free agency in November 2025.
He pitched for the Astros from 2018-25.
During that stretch, the 32-year-old had three top-10 finishes in American League Cy Young voting − 2022, 2023 and 2024. He made the All-Star Game in 2022 and 2023. He also appeared in the World Series in 2021 and 2022, helping the Astros win the championship in 2022.
“They did not make any contact with me,” Valdez said.
As a formality in that process, Valdez declined the Astros’ one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer – and when the Tigers signed him in February 2026, they were forced to forfeit the No. 98 overall pick in the 2026 draft.
If it were his choice, he would’ve preferred to stay with the Astros on a long-term contract.
The Astros didn’t want him.
“I would have loved for my team of eight, nine years to call me back to stay home, but it’s part of the business, and I understand that,” said Valdez, who signed with the Astros during the international signing period for a $10,000 bonus in March 2015. “No hard feelings at all. I’m very grateful and thankful for them giving me the chance to become the player I am.”
In 2026, Valdez hasn’t been worth his record-setting $38.3 million average annual value, the highest in MLB history for a left-handed pitcher.
He will start Tuesday’s game.
“I know his time here means a lot to him,” said manager A.J. Hinch, who managed the Astros from 2015-19. “He’s part of some flags that are hung in left field, so it’s impossible to come back to a place where you spent virtually all of your career and not have that emotional tie. He has friends on the other side, so he’ll channel that and get pretty competitive. He wants to do well.”
Valdez has registered a 4.40 ERA with 29 walks and 61 strikeouts across 77⅔ innings in 14 starts in 2026 – and that’s after he posted a 6.05 ERA in his final 10 starts in 2025.
The underlying metrics explain his 2026 struggles: His 50.4% ground-ball rate is the lowest of his career, which has led to too many sinkers being hit for damage, and his curveball has a career-worst 31.1% whiff rate, which has led to a career-worst 17.9% strikeout rate.
He isn’t inducing enough ground balls, and he isn’t generating enough whiffs.
Now, Valdez has to face his old team.
“It’s a lot of feelings,” Valdez said. “I’m excited, but I’m also nervous. It’s my first time coming here as a visiting player, but I’m happy to be here in the place that saw me grow up and perform and be a professional. It’s good to be back.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers’ Framber Valdez wanted to stay with Astros. They never called
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
