Framber Valdez, Cesar Salazar Pulled Into Manager's Office After Strange Cross-Up

It appeared like there could be some friction between two Houston Astros players.

Sep 2, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez (59) and catcher Cesar Salazar (18) walk to the dugout before the game against the New York Yankees at Daikin Park | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros lost 7-1 against the New York Yankees on Tuesday.

It was not a pretty game for the Astros, with Framber Valdez getting lit up again and the bats staying silent. But that was not the storyline coming out of the game. Instead, it was the strange cross-up that took place between Valdez and catcher Cesar Salazar that had the baseball world talking.

Before that took place -- with Houston down 2-0 -- Valdez got into trouble in the top of the fifth inning. After striking out the first batter of the frame, the left-hander issued a walk and gave up two singles to load up the bases.

Valdez then rung up Giancarlo Stanton for the second out of the inning, giving himself a chance to get out of the jam without any damage given up. But that was not the case, as Trent Grisham launched a 358-foot grand slam to left center field as the next batter.

Prior to Valdez throwing the 1-0 pitch that was blasted over the fence, it appeared like Salazar wanted his pitcher to step off the mound. Valdez did not heed that warning, and all of a sudden, the Astros trailed by six runs.

However, after that is when things got strange. Because in the very next at-bat, it appeared like Valdez and Salazar got crossed up, with the lefty throwing a 93 mph sinker into the stomach of his catcher, causing Salazar to react with noticeable frustration.

Framber Valdez did not step off the mound when César Salazar motioned for him to moments before Trent Grisham’s grand slam.

Framber Valdez and César Salazar then got crossed up two pitches after the grand slam.

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Naturally, the discourse surrounding that incident reached a fever pitch online, which was picked up by mainstream sports media companies as a talking point coming out of this game. On the surface, the entire thing looked strange, with Valdez immediately turning his back on Salazar instead of apologizing for the mistake.

The cynics out there stated that Valdez did that intentionally, and based on how Salazar reacted, it appeared like he had some questions about if he was plunked by his pitcher on purpose or not, too. For what it's worth, Valdez denied that it was purposeful after the game.

"We just got crossed up," he told reporters through the team's translator. "I called for that pitch, I threw it and we got crossed up. When we went down to the dugout I excused myself with him and I said sorry to him. And I take full responsibility for that."

Joe Espada Called Both Valdez and Salazar Into His Office

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When Valdez was asked if he hit Salazar on purpose, he said, "No. It was not. It was not intentional. I called for a sinker and that's the pitch I wanted. There was a lot of noise and I thought that was what he wanted me to throw. But no, it was not intentional."

It sounds like Joe Espada wanted to get a better sense of what happened. Because according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, both Valdez and Salazar were pulled into the skipper's office after the game.

This might have just been a classic cross-up since those happen often. But it was the reaction of the pitcher and catcher that caught the attention of everyone, making it seem like something else happened besides a simple mistake.

Hopefully it wasn't nefarious and this can be water under the bridge. Because with the way the Astros have been playing lately, they can't afford a fractured clubhouse.