Astros Players Reportedly Confronted Framber Valdez Over Controversial Cross-Up

It sounds like the Houston Astros players had a problem with the controversial cross-up that took place.

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The Houston Astros might have a problem.

Coming out of their Tuesday night loss against the New York Yankees, all anyone in the baseball world was talking about was what took place between Framber Valdez and catcher Cesar Salazar when some sort of cross-up happened and Salazar was plunked by a pitch from his pitcher.

Numerous people -- from former players to analysts to fans -- have stated their belief that what happened in that incident was intentional. Valdez denied that was the case after the game, insisting it was just a simple cross-up. But the reaction of both Valdez and Salazar in that moment is what made the entire thing appear fishy.

And it sounds like players in the Astros clubhouse wanted some answers from the left-hander, with team insider Michael Schwab reporting that sources told him "tensions rose in the Astros clubhouse" where "players confronted" Valdez. Things got to the point where "the argument escalated and coaches eventually stepped in to calm the situation."

Sources tell me tensions rose in the Astros clubhouse last night, after the loss, when players confronted Framber Valdez for his in game actions involving César Salazar.

The argument escalated and coaches eventually stepped in to calm the situation.

While intent behind the…

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) September 3, 2025

That is not a good sign. While Valdez tried to downplay the situation with his postgame comments on Tuesday, the fact that multiple players felt the need to confront him to the point where there was a heated argument does not ease the thought that something malicious took place.

The other point of contention for players was Valdez's initial reaction to the cross-up, with Schwab adding that "Valdez's initial refusal to address Salazar frustrated many in the clubhouse."
That was the other talking point many former players had, with multiple pitchers and catchers stating they have never seen a reaction like that from either side of the aisle in any cross-up situation.

Valdez's agent, Ulises Cabrera, came to his defense on Wednesday, stating per Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required), "The idea that he's intentionally trying to injure one of his teammates is preposterous. It's a complete lack of respect for who he is as a person and who he is as a player. And his body of work demonstrates that. Anything to the contrary is just completely misguided and it's not right."

Where the Astros Go From Here

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It's hard to know exactly what is going to come out of this situation. Valdez is steadfast that what happened was not on purpose, something his teammates will either believe or not believe based on how they view the incident.

The good news is that Houston was able to rally in their second game of the series against New York, coming from behind to erase a three-run deficit and pull off a late-innings win that puts them further ahead in the AL West standings.

But the Astros need to get this saga figured out if they are going to achieve the highest levels of success this season. They need a clubhouse that is pulling in the right direction together, and they need the best version of Valdez for that to happen.

This will be something to keep an eye on for the rest of the year, because based on what Schwab reported, it sounds like there are plenty of Valdez's teammates who were not happy with what transpired on Tuesday.