MLB · P · Detroit Tigers
Framber Valdez
B/T R/L · 5' 11" · 230 lb · born Palenque, Dominican Republic · age 32 · played P 26 · MLB debut 2018-08-21
Last 14 days (through 2026-08-29): 2 G · 11.2 IP · 5.40 ERA · 5 SO · 1.63 WHIP
664 batters faced scored this season His season card →
Scout’s note
Framber Valdez came out of Palenque and has been a big-league lefty since 2018, with 1,164 strikeouts in 214 career games. He has just 5 over his last two starts, and that is the number worth watching.
Note written · FVR scout (GLM-5.2)
What he’s paid
Under contractA market fact, not an engine read: what a club decided about him, on the season before this one. Figures from Cot’s, as of .
- 2026 salary
- $22.83M
- Tax hit
- $36.52M
- Service time
- 6 yr 163 d
- Guaranteed
- $115M
The deal 3 years $115M (2026–2028), with an opt-out — $38.3M a year on average, worked out by us rather than stated on the sheet, and not the same thing as the tax hit above
On the sheet: 3 y/$115M (26-28)* · agent Octagon · 2 / 3 options left
After this season, as the sheet has it
| Season | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $42.8M | $35.0M | $5.0M |
| Tax hit | $36.5M | $36.5M | — |
Cash and the tax hit are two different rulebooks and are never subtracted from one another — see the payroll board for his club, Detroit Tigers.
A second set of books
The same contract, read by MLB Spreadsheets (Ethan Hullihen), as of . We keep two sources on this because one source cannot check itself.
- Tax AAV
- $36.5M
- Guaranteed
- $115.0M
- Term
- 3 yrs
What the sheet prices each season at
| Season | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary | $17.5M | $37.5M | $35.0M | $40.0M |
A base salary under his own reading, and never subtracted from the cash figure above: a signing bonus lands in one and not the other, so the two disagree on most men without either being wrong. And the sheet does not mark which future seasons are GUARANTEED — a club option and a projected arbitration award are both just a number here, so read past the end of the deal as his forecast rather than as money owed.
Two sources, read a month apart, put this guarantee at the same dollar. That is the check, and it passed.
The tax AAV above is his number under the CBA’s own rulebook, not the average we work out from Cot’s total. On a contract with deferred money the two come apart on purpose — and neither is subtracted from the other.
Collect Framber Valdez
If the signal is right, the cardboard usually finds out later. Current listings:
Framber Valdez cards on eBay →Paid link — as an eBay Partner, FVR earns from qualifying purchases.
Not financial advice. We take positions only after publication — never before. Misses stay on the record.
The Bureau on Framber Valdez
The scouting press, in their own words
Some leftovers from last night’s Tigers-Pirates game: on Framber Valdez’s next to last pitch, his neck chain detached. He caught it before it fell to the ground, reattached it — and gave up a three-run double on the next pitch. In the end, he gave the Tigers 5 2/3 innings to end
Back on sideline today alongside Boog and @Sut_40! Sinker battle with David Peterson and Framber Valdez. I have some fun nuggets on Peterson’s delivery. First pitch 7:05pm CT on @WatchMarquee. 👊 #Cubs https://t.co/iz4Qvbp27g
Umpire favor
-0.9 net runs over 25 graded games — the zone cost the umpire more than it gave, on balance.
The line
Bio & season lines: MLB StatsAPI · refreshed nightly · abbreviations →