For weeks, the Baltimore Orioles have consistently featured Framber Valdez in every conversation. Not loudly. Not hastily. But they haven’t disappeared either. And it’s precisely their choice to remain in this narrative that’s leading observers to question: is this no longer a normal pursuit?
Theoretically, the Orioles don’t need another starter to survive. They already have a deep enough rotation, a young and effective offense, and high expectations for 2026. But there’s always a hard-to-define gap between “good enough” and “good enough to win a championship.” That’s often where the most perplexing decisions are made.
Framber Valdez is standing right in that gap.
Eight seasons in Houston have shaped Valdez as a tenacious, resilient shooter who isn’t afraid of hard work. Over 1,080 innings, an ERA of 3.36, over 1,000 strikeouts ā not the kind of explosive weekly statistics, but the kind of record teams rely on as October approaches. Even in a 2025 season that isn’t considered peak, Valdez still consistently throws nearly 200 innings, something very few pitchers on the market can achieve.
What makes Valdez particularly attractive to Baltimore isn’t just the numbers. It’s the style. A groundball-creating left-hander, limiting big innings, fitting the philosophy of controlling the game. In a demanding AL East, this type of pitcher often delivers more value than traditional statistics suggest.
But if it were just a matter of “fit,” the deal could have closed sooner.
The timing is what makes it noteworthy. The Orioles had been monitoring Valdez from very early on. The connections between him and GM Mike Eliasāwho knew Valdez well from their time in Houstonāwere well-known. Yet, Baltimore wasn’t in a hurry to close. They let the market take its course. Let other teams consider. Let the value adjust itself.
And then, the voices in the industry began to shift.
When Steve Phillips went on MLB Network and said he would be āshockedā if Valdez didnāt become an Oriole, it wasnāt just polite praise. It was an assessment based on experience reading the market: when terms are no longer increasing, when the number of years and the amount of money have stabilized, the advantage usually goes to the team with the deepest relationshipāand the clearest vision.
Of course, there were still unknowns. The Mets were still watching. A āsurpriseā team could emerge. And Baltimore wasnāt under any pressure to act. But in the context of a young team entering a period of highest expectations, choosing the right time to add a big player is sometimes more important than the player itself.
Valdez, if he joins Baltimore, may not be the number one ace. But he will change the structure. The order. The pressure. He will make an already good rotation more flexible in the long playoff series. And more importantly, he will send a silent message: the Orioles don’t just believe in the future ā they are investing to capitalize on the present.
The question now isn’t whether Valdez will sign. It’s why Baltimore is still there, at a time when the market is starting to quiet down.
In MLB, big deals rarely end with a bang. They usually close with quiet acceptance ā when everything has already been decided well in advance.
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