Houston Astros Ace Predicted To Land Nine-Figure Deal in Free Agency

The Houston Astros are no strangers to watching homegrown talent leave during the offseason, whether it is via free agency or a trade.

This past winter they said goodbye to two stars they watched grow and develop through the minor league system; third baseman Alex Bregman and right fielder Kyle Tucker.

There are more difficult decisions awaiting them, as their ace, Framber Valdez, is set to hit free agency after the 2025 season.

It will be interesting to see how they handle this situation given the track record of the franchise when it comes to these sort of things.

Will he remain with the team beyond the trade deadline or will they cash in on whatever value he has to ensure they don’t lose him for nothing in free agency?

If the prediction by Jeff Passan of ESPN comes to fruition, the Astros need to be prepared to pay Valdez a good chunk of change this winter to retain him.

In a recent piece, Passan made predictions about which players could receive the next megadeals around the league.

Houston’s star is one of the players he believes will land a nine-figure deal this offseason.

“He's throwing harder than ever, which is the sort of thing that helps convince teams to invest in a starting pitcher who will be 32 next Opening Day. Listed at 5-foot-11, 232 pounds, Valdez doesn't have the sort of body that tends to age well, but he throws lots of innings, doesn't walk hitters, wields plenty of postseason experience and limits home runs,” wrote the insider.

An uptick in velocity at this stage of his career is certainly encouraging to see.

Valdez's pitching style isn’t going to garner the most attention, relying on his sinker ball and not racking up big strikeout numbers.

But he has been one of the most reliable starting pitchers over the last few years by being named an All-Star twice and finishing in the top nine of the American League Cy Young Award voting.

He isn’t off to the kind of start a player would like to get off to ahead of free agency, with a 4.39 ERA through seven starts. But he has a complete game on his ledger and his track record speaks for itself.

Teams should be lining up for him, despite him set to be 32 years old on Opening Day in 2026, with his durability and playoff history.

When the lights are brightest, he still shines.

For Houston, the presence of Hunter Brown could play a big role in how they handle things with Valdez.

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