LAKELAND, Fla. -- The 34 Club overlooking right field at Joker Marchant Stadium was packed on Wednesday afternoon, even though the Tigers’ Grapefruit League schedule doesn’t begin for another week and a half. While Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris and general manager Jeff Greenberg prepared to formally welcome Framber Valdez, Valdez’s family and agent were on hand for the introductory press conference.
Arguably the most notable figures, however, were at a table in the back of the room. Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, Jack Flaherty and Justin Verlander had just finished their first formal workout of this Spring Training, but they stuck around to welcome their new rotation mate.
“It makes me feel great that they take time out of their day to be with me here. It shows the leadership that they have,” Valdez said through translation from agent Ulises Cabrera. “It shows that this is a group, and I hope to be a contributing member of that group. A rising tide lifts all boats. For them to be here, they're obviously best in class. To be a part of that is something that [I feel to be] a privilege.”
This is what Tigers pitchers do. From the time Skubal and Mize were breaking into the big leagues alongside fellow prospects Matt Manning and Alex Faedo, they’ve been there to support each other, from watching each other’s Spring Training sessions to their side sessions during the season to their bullpen warmups before a start.
Flaherty learned the culture when he became a Tiger two years ago. Now Valdez, who agreed to a three-year, $115 million contract last week, and Verlander, who will get his re-introductory press conference Thursday morning after he agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Tigers on Tuesday, are part of it. And after Valdez took photos with family and Tigers officials, the five starters -- Valdez in a suit, Mize in street clothes, the others in Tigers workout gear -- posed for a picture together.
Individually, they’re five star pitchers with impressive resumes, including four former All-Stars, three former World Series champions, two multi-time Cy Young winners and a former MVP. As teammates, they have the potential to be greater.
“Obviously when you have a top guy like Tarik at the top of the rotation, it's an impactful team to play against,” Valdez said through translation from his agent. “But it's not [just] Tarik. It's the entire rotation. It's the bullpen. It's the lineup. It's the manager. It's a competitive team that you have to respect. He feels now if he can join the team and the culture can be one of competition and winning, that we can take the next step.”
They might only be together for a year. Valdez is the only one under contract beyond this season; the rest could hit free agency next winter. But if it goes right, what a year it could be.
"I think the possibilities are endless right now,” said catcher Jake Rogers, who caught Valdez when they were both prospects in the Astros farm system in 2016 and 2017. “Truthfully, I’m super excited to see what we can do.”
The Tigers recruited Valdez on becoming a part of that culture. Manager A.J. Hinch, his old skipper in Houston when he began his big-league career, led the recruitment effort, making a visit to have dinner with Valdez near his home in Florida.
“Reuniting with him in that meeting alone was really cool for me,” Hinch said earlier Wednesday. “I mean, he has come from the bottom up. A lot of people doubted him, from his signing date all the way to getting to the big leagues, and then he’s flourished into one of the best pitchers in baseball.
“So that meeting for me was, 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 and what he would mean to this team if he signed here.”
Said Valdez: “Tremendous impact for me, for a guy of A.J.'s stature to come visit me, specifically to communicate what the culture with the Tigers is, to explain what they feel [I] could bring to the team, their plan for winning in the future, just the overall impact for A.J. to take the time to meet and invite [me] to be a part of the group. It was really inspiring, and it was one of the key factors for [me] deciding to be a Detroit Tiger.”