The Blue Jays are likely to be involved in the free agent starting pitching market this winter, with Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer currently unsigned. After Shane Bieber opted into his 2026 deal, the club now has a formidable top three along with Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage. They should have the chance to bring back one of their own free agent pitchers or attempt to upgrade with a higher-profile arm.

One name that is bound to draw serious interest is Houston Astros’ lefthander Framber Valdez. The 31-year-old has pitched eight seasons with the Astros, steadily improving his game and proving to be one of the better pitchers in the game, especially when narrowing things to left-handed pitchers. He has received AL Cy Young votes – finishing 11th in 2020, fifth in 2021, ninth in 2022, and seventh in 2024.

Valdez may be the closest thing to an innings-eater type in the modern era. He led the AL in innings pitched in 2022 (201.1), finishing third in 2023 and sixth in 2025. When his stuff is on, he’s a great candidate to go deep into games, completing eight games over the last four seasons. One of those complete games was his 2023 no-hitter, a feat he almost repeated a year later until he lost it with two outs in the 9th inning. The Dominican Republic native has also been one of the more durable pitchers in the game, missing only around 10 starts over the last five seasons.

Over the course of the left-hander’s Astros career, he amassed 20.5 fWAR, 3.36 ERA (3.51 FIP), and an 8.7 K/9 over 1080 2/3 innings pitched. After struggling with walks at times over his first four big league seasons, he has become one of the most consistent starters on the market. He was also a guy that Houston relied on in the playoffs in five of the last six years, logging 85.0 innings in that span, more than any pitcher since 2020.

Valdez had a mostly successful 2025 season that mirrored his production over the previous three years. He compiled 192.0 innings, with a 3.66 ERA to go along with an 8.7 K.9, his exact career mark. All his underlying numbers, including his walk and home run rates, as well as his ground ball rate, were right in line with his usual numbers, producing yet another quality season. His BABIP was .297 – hardly a high number – although it was his highest mark since 2020, explaining why his ERA was higher than it had been since 2019. Of course, this is being picky for a pitcher that you can always rely on to take the ball every fifth day.

The five-foot eleven pitcher doesn’t have the ideal size for a starting pitcher, but he has proven that it’s a non-factor so far in his career. He primarily relies on a three-pitch mix including a sinker, curveball, and changeup, mixing in a slider and four-seamer as well. The arsenal doesn’t typically lead to eye-popping strikeout numbers, but his ground ball rate is routinely among the best in baseball. In 2025, his GB% ranked in the 97th percentile.

Despite having another solid season, the thing that most people remember about Valdez’s campaign was his cross-up with his catcher, Cesar Salazar, in early September.

Although he apologized following the game, his body language directly afterwards led many to believe that he threw a pitch that Salazar wasn’t expecting on purpose. This is something that you simply never see in the major leagues, and it is an incident worth vetting by any team that signs him this winter. Chances are, this was an isolated incident in a moment of frustration that won’t lead to any future behaviour or clubhouse drama. However, for a pitcher whose profile on the mound is as squeaky clean as they come, this may raise some red flags.

Valdez will likely fetch a contract in the range of 5-6 years and $160-180 million, which shouldn’t be a deterrent to the Blue Jays should they be interested.

His addition would give the Blue Jays one of the best rotations in baseball, with four starters that could be viewed as number one or two starters. Valdez may be particularly appealing due to his being a left-hander, which the Jays did not have in their rotation last year, outside of a handful of starts from Eric Lauer. His reliance on pitch movement and his breaking balls – as opposed to velocity – should allow him to age well as he gets into his mid-30s. With Gausman and Bieber’s contracts due up after the 2026 season, Valdez could be a guy who is relied on at the top of the rotation for years to come.

It’s worth mentioning that Valdez was one of the 13 players who received qualifying offers last week. This means that signing the lefthander will mean that the Blue Jays would likely forego a draft pick in 2026. With an incredibly strong clubhouse, the 31-year-old will need to be vetted to make sure that he fits in, especially considering the incident with his catcher. If the Jays feel comfortable enough with him, he could end up being a pivotal piece for a team vying to get back to the World Series in 2026.