Valdez turns down Astros' qualifying offer

HOUSTON -- Veteran left-hander Framber Valdez turned down the Astros’ qualifying offer Tuesday, one day before his 32nd birthday. Four of the 13 players who received qualifying offers accepted them prior to Tuesday’s deadline.

Instead of returning to the Astros in 2026 on a one-year, $22.025 million deal, Valdez hits the open market for the first time and should be one of the most coveted starters. If he signs with another team, the Astros will receive a compensatory pick in next year’s MLB Draft.

The Astros already have an extra pick coming in the 2026 Draft because of ace Hunter Brown’s top three finish in the American League Cy Young Award voting. Because Brown accrued one year of service time as a rookie and finished in the top three in voting for a major award prior to qualifying for arbitration, the Astros will receive a pick after the first round in 2026.

The Astros received an extra pick in the 2025 MLB Draft after issuing a qualifying offer to third baseman Alex Bregman, who turned it down and signed with Boston.

Valdez went 13-11 with a 3.66 ERA and two complete games in 31 starts for the Astros last season. He has made 121 starts since the 2022 season, making a pair of All-Star teams in that span, and has been one of baseball’s top left-handers. Valdez’s free agent case should be interesting considering his bumpy 2025 season.

Through 21 starts, Valdez was 11-4 with a 2.62 ERA, striking out 141 batters over 134 innings. Valdez went 2-7 with a 6.05 ERA over his final 10 starts, striking out 46 over 58 innings. His skid coincided with Houston’s slide, which saw the Astros go 25-28, leaving them one game shy of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

But one pitch from Valdez stood out above all others during that stretch.

During his Sept. 2 start against the Yankees, Valdez gave up a grand slam to Trent Grisham, throwing the pitch even after catcher César Salazar motioned for him to step off the rubber. Two pitches later, Valdez fired a fastball that hit Salazar -- who had called for a curveball -- in the chest. Both players insisted it was simply a cross-up, but Valdez’s reaction after the pitch -- he turned his back on his batterymate -- was met with criticism.

The Astros will be looking to bolster their pitching staff this winter behind Brown. Cristian Javier made eight starts in his return from Tommy John surgery and posted a 4.62 ERA, and Spencer Arrighetti missed a bulk of the season because of a fractured right thumb. He returned Aug. 6 and went 0-4 with a 5.26 ERA in five starts before right elbow inflammation ended his season.

The Astros are taking a flyer on 29-year-old right-hander Nate Pearson, and Colton Gordon, Jason Alexander and Lance McCullers Jr. will help fill out the starting pitching depth, with AJ Blubaugh (the team’s No. 16 prospect per MLB Pipeline) perhaps pushing his way into the picture. Houston lost three pitchers to Tommy John surgery last season -- Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter -- and Luis Garcia won’t return after having a second TJ surgery.

“Right now, we didn’t sign Framber, and we’ve got to fill those innings,” Astros general manager Dana Brown said at last week’s General Managers Meetings. “We’ve got Hunter Brown at the top, and we feel good about Javier and his emergence last year coming off the injury. He was up to 96 [mph], so we feel good about him coming to Spring Training. Arrighetti is having a very productive offseason, so we feel good about him. … We do need to create a little more depth and solidify the back half of the rotation.”