Framber Valdez Signing Pushes Tigers Past Dodgers in Major Category
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The Detroit Tigers made a massive move last night in agreeing to a three-year deal worth $135 million with former Houston Astros ace Framber Valdez. Valdez joins Tigers manager AJ Hinch, the same manager with whom he came up through the Astros organization, as well as an elite core of pitchers.
As of right now, Detroit has not traded back-to-back Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, who underwent his arbitration hearing the same day the Tigers signed Valdez, which is massive for the organization.
Joining the likes of Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize and Reese Olson as the projected starting rotation, Detroit's signing of Valdez catapults them ahead of the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in arguably the most important category in the MLB when it comes to being successful.
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Tigers Rank Above Dodgers in SP Depth
According to FanGraphs, the Tigers' starting pitching depth has moved into second place among all 30 MLB teams for the 2026 season, passing the Dodgers and only ranking behind the Boston Red Sox.
On top of the Valdez addition, Detroit has Drew Anderson, Troy Melton and Keider Montero in the folds of the depth chart, which is enough to pass the likes of the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki.
Valdez stands out as an elite number two in a rotation led by the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner in Skubal, as he has been a consistent pitcher his entire career. According to Baseball Savant, Valdez ranked in the 97th percentile in ground ball percentage and the 91st percentile in fastball run value.
Valdez is an innings eater, has finished in the Top 10 in Cy Young Award voting three times in his career, and could join Skubal in being a 200-strikeout season type of pitcher. Keep in mind, the Tigers could still decide to move Skubal at any point this offseason or throughout the season, so these rankings should be viewed with that in mind.
The Tigers were projected to win 83 games before Valdez signed with the franchise, and now, following the addition, those projections are likely to go up. Detroit does need some help with the bats in their hands, but the front office is likely to rely on the young hitters coming through in 2026.
The AL Central feels like it's the Tigers' to lose, as they look to become division champions for the first time since 2014.
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Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.