Framber Valdez's Latest Outing Proves Tigers Huge Contract Was Mistake
In this story:
The Detroit Tigers and manager AJ Hinch dropped the first game of their recent series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. Framber Valdez took the hill for Detroit looking to put up a quality start.
But the outing that the veteran had was less than quality as he earned another loss this season in the defeat to the Rays. Valdez completed six innings giving up four runs (three earned) on eight hits with two walks and one home run given up.
The veteran has been trying to find answers all season long and has not been able to and has struggled all season long for Detroit. The way that he has been pitching all season is proving to the front office that they made a mistake.
The front office was hoping to find a veteran pitcher to cover innings that could also help make the rotation a top five rotation in baseball. But the way Valdez's season has gone, he has made the rotation worse than the staff was intending and has not earned the money that he makes.
Valdez Was Supposed to Be a Reliable Veteran
When the Tigers and their staff signed Valdez in the offseason, he was supposed to be an arm that added positivity to the rotation. They already had Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize at the top of the rotation with Troy Melton not far behind.
But Valdez has been a guy that has brought the staff down more than he has lifted them up. He is a guy that knows how to win and knows how to cover innings when he was with the Houston Astros in the past.
But the guy that has gone out there every fifth day for Detroit is way different than the guy that they watched absolutely dominate in Houston. It is unknown what happened to Valdez and why he has had such a slipup this season compared to past seasons. He is 8.8 with a 4.35 ERA, which is Ok but not worth what the Tigers paid for him.
The Tigers invested a lot of money in the veteran this season and it has not paid off for them. Valdez is now a guy that seems to be at the top of the rotation for the Tigers behind Melton with Skubal and Mize having been traded at the deadline.
Valdez is going to hope to have a good end to the season as the Tigers are likely to miss the postseason. He needs to try to show the Tigers that he was a good investment in some aspects.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Tyler Miller is a 26-year-old Sports Journalist who has had a passion for writing ever since graduating from Georgia Southern University with a Journalism degree in 2022. Tyler has been writing about sports for going on 8 years now. Tyler has been a Detroit Tigers fan ever since Miguel Cabrera was tearing up the league in the early 2000s and has followed them from there till now with superstar Kevin McGonigle being in the mix. Tyler also has had experience writing for FanSided in the past where he was a site expert and a contributor across different sites.