In the past 10 days alone, we've seen Ranger Suarez sign with the Boston Red Sox and Freddy Peralta and MacKenzie Gore get traded to the New York Mets and Texas Rangers, respectively. All of this movement on the starting pitching market has left Framber Valdez as the best realistically attainable option, assuming Tarik Skubal doesn't go anywhere.
Valdez is 32 years old and comes with clubhouse concerns, but he's also one of MLB's most consistent innings eaters. He'd make any rotation he joins better. Knowing this, it's a bit strange that we've reached late January and we know very little about his market. With that being said, let's go through some potential Valdez suitors and rank them based on how badly they need him.
Which of the potential Framber Valdez suitors needs him the most?
6. Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays do not need Framber Valdez. Let me make that abundantly clear. I mean, look at these rotation options they have.
Blue Jays Starting Pitching Options | Hand |
|---|---|
Kevin Gausman | Right |
Dylan Cease | Right |
Shane Bieber | Right |
Trey Yesavage | Right |
Jose Berrios | Right |
Cody Ponce | Right |
Eric Lauer | Left |
Bowden Francis | Right |
This list doesn't even include pitching prospects on their 40-man roster like Jake Bloss and Ricky Tiedemann. With all of that being said, we know the Jays have money to spend, and after whiffing on Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette, why not go after another starter?
A rotation featuring Valdez, Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Shane Bieber and Trey Yesavage would be absurdly good, and they'd have a ton of quality depth on top of that. Again, the Jays would have one of the best rotations in the AL without him, but given the fact that they're one of the few teams who'd realistically meet a high asking price, it'd be foolish to rule them out completely. We know how badly the Jays want to win, and even if they don't really need him, Valdez would make them even scarier.
5. New York Mets
If I had written this piece just two or three days ago, the New York Mets would've been at or near the top of the list of suitors who needed to sign Valdez. As of two or three days ago, the Mets lacked the ace to lead their rotation. That's no longer the case, though, after the team traded for Freddy Peralta.
While the Mets appear set on the rotation front, they could still look to add. As great as Peralta is, he averaged just 5.3 innings per start last season, and he's never thrown 180 innings in a single season. For reference, Valdez has thrown more than 190 innings in three of the last four seasons. Valdez could eat innings while giving the Mets one of the best and deepest rotations in the NL, which would be quite the shift after how things unfolded in 2025.
This isn't a need, but what if Valdez were open to the kind of short-term, high-AAV arrangement David Stearns covets? The Mets have seemingly unlimited money to spend, and Valdez would be the cap to an extraordinary offseason.
4. Atlanta Braves
On paper, the Atlanta Braves don't really need Framber Valdez. Their rotation, headlined by Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider, should be one of the NL's best if it can stay healthy. That's a big if, though.
Sale was limited to just 21 appearances last season, is 36 years of age and has a lengthy injury history. Schwellenbach's season ended when he fractured his elbow in late June of last season. Strider was able to make 23 starts last season, coming off an elbow procedure, but he's made more than 25 starts just once in parts of five big league seasons. Reynaldo Lopez made just one start last season and hasn't made 30 starts in a season since 2019. If Grant Holmes is able to pitch in 2026, he'll do so with a partially torn UCL.
The Braves have the talent, but durability with just about all of their starters is a massive concern. Valdez, on the other hand, has made at least 28 starts in each of the last four seasons, a mark only Bryce Elder, a pitcher the organization would likely prefer to have in Triple-A, could reach in 2025. Depth is a necessity, and the Braves can acquire that without signing Valdez, but Valdez would be the best-case scenario. If his price dips, perhaps Alex Anthopoulos will pounce.
3. San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants were a .500 baseball team in 2025 and they've done nothing to seriously improve this offseason. Sure, guys like Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser are decent, but are they really needle-movers? Framber Valdez certainly is one, and he can make this rotation a true force.
A trio featuring Valdez, Logan Webb and Robbie Ray would be among the NL's best, and without much left on the position player side for the Giants to pursue, it feels like creating this three-headed montster is their only path to contention in what should be a competitive NL Wild Card race.
Knowing that Ray and Mahle are set to hit free agency after this season should add even more pressure on the Giants to add Valdez, ensuring they have rotation stability beyond this season.
2. San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are in a rough spot with several roster holes and not much money or prospect capital to work with. The biggest of those holes is the rotation. Just look at the Padres' projected rotation right now.
Padres Rotation Order | Name |
|---|---|
1 | Michael King |
2 | Nick Pivetta |
3 | Joe Musgrove |
4 | Randy Vasquez |
5 | JP Sears |
Michael King is great when healthy, but after making just 15 starts last season, how healthy will he be in 2026? Nick Pivetta is coming off a breakout year, but will he be able to repeat that? Joe Musgrove is a rock-solid mid-rotation arm when healthy, but how will he look coming off Tommy John Surgery? Having one of Randy Vasquez or JP Sears in their Opening Day rotation is probably fine, but having both of them alongside the other question marks feels quite underwhelming.
Valdez would not only greatly improve this rotation's ceiling, but he'd be a much-needed floor raiser, too. His price feels out of San Diego's range, but the longer he remains on the open market, the more likely it is that A.J. Preller can swoop in and get a deal done. It might not be the most realistic fit in the world right now, but when it comes to need, you can't deny that the Padres need him more than just about anybody given the state of their rotation.
1. Baltimore Orioles
By handing Pete Alonso a five-year, $155 million contract, trading four years of Grayson Rodriguez for one year of Taylor Ward, and trading a slew of prospects for Shane Baz, the Baltimore Orioles made it clear early on this offseason that they intend on competing in 2026. It's great to see the Orioles act aggressively, but they've yet to address their biggest need at the front of their rotation. Signing Valdez would change things.
Kyle Bradish is currently Baltimore's ace, and while he certainly has ace upside, durability concerns are real with him. Trevor Rogers pitched like an ace last season, but he, too, has some injury concerns, and who knows if he'll pitch like a frontline starter again after posting an ERA just south of 5.00 in 2024? Shane Baz has electric stuff, but he's never put it together for a full season and, again, has clear injury concerns.
The Orioles lack the reliable ace that teams need to get to and win a World Series. Valdez, a World Series-winner himself, is that guy. If the Orioles are serious about winning, there's no excuse when it comes to signing Framber Valdez, especially with big-market suitors like the Mets and Blue Jays not really needing to sign him.
More MLB news and analysis: