Framber Valdez's $200 Million Valuation Leaves Astros With Big Decision

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Josh Valdez | Last updated Sep 20, 2025 11:03 PM ET

The Houston Astros entered Friday tied with the Seattle Mariners atop the AL West, and now they're out of playoff positioning. They've dropped two straight to Seattle at home, and Saturday's loss was largely because of starting pitcher Framber Valdez.

The 31-year-old allowed five runs on six hits across 4.2 innings with four strikeouts against four walks. The Astros lost 6-4, and he's now 12-11 with a 3.75 ERA across 30 starts this season.

Additionally, Valdez entered Saturday with a 7.88 ERA in September after recording a 5.64 ERA in August. The two-time All-Star notched a 2.91 ERA last season, but he's lost that form at the worst time.

On one hand, Houston is fighting for its playoff life. Although it's tied with the Cleveland Guardians for the third and final AL wild card spot, the latter team wins the tiebreaker due to head-to-head record. The last thing the Astros need is one of their best pitchers struggling at a time like this.

On the other hand, Valdez is also giving Houston a difficult decision to make when he hits unrestricted free agency in the offseason.

The southpaw is worth a $33.4 million average annual salary and has a total market value of $200.6 million over six years, via Spotrac. He has been one of the Astros' best pitchers since 2019, but his ill-timed collapse may prompt them to go in another direction.

Houston could point to Valdez's consistency as a justification to bring him back, as he's notched a sub-3.50 ERA and a 3.1-plus strikeout/walk ratio three times. However, $200.6 million is a hefty price to pay for a pitcher who just collapsed when it mattered most.

Framber Valdez’s ERA is 6.71 since August 1. pic.twitter.com/bSMP8teLqx
— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) September 21, 2025

Hunter Brown is Astros' Saving Grace

Valdez is tied with Houston right-hander Hunter Brown for the team lead in wins, but the latter pitcher is performing better in every other category. The 27-year-old is third in baseball with a 2.30 ERA, eighth with a 1.01 WHIP, seventh with 201 strikeouts, and has three fewer losses.

Additionally, Brown still has three arbitration years left before hitting free agency. The 2019 fifth-round pick gives the Astros a young ace to build the pitching staff around for the next few years, which would soften the blow of losing Valdez.

Up next for Houston is a rematch with Seattle on Sunday before hitting the road to face the Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels to end the regular season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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