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Examining Framber Valdez’s fit on the Blue Jays in the unlikely event they add another starter
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Photo credit: © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jan 26, 2026, 08:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 26, 2026, 04:32 EST
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There’s still a front-end-of-the rotation starter available in free agency.
With Spring Training less than a month away, left-handed starter Framber Valdez remains available. Last week, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reported that the Toronto Blue Jays spoke to Valdez before signing Dylan Cease.
The same day that Cease’s deal was made official, the Blue Jays signed Cody Ponce. There hasn’t been a report that the Jays are talking to Valdez any longer, but the timing of the report is a bit peculiar, as it came a day after the Jays lost out on Kyle Tucker.
As it stands, the Jays have six realistic options for the rotation, including rookie Trey Yesavage, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, and José Berríos. All six of those starting pitchers have one thing in common: They’re all right-handed, whereas Valdez is a left-handed pitcher.
Valdez posted a 3.66 ERA and 3.37 FIP in 192 innings pitched last season, finishing with a 23.3 K% and an 8.5 BB%. Valdez sits in the mid-90s with his heater and has done a terrific job of generating soft-contact ground outs. For his career, Valdez has a 61.8% ground ball percentage. Just imagine how Valdez would perform with the Blue Jays’ defence behind him.
The thing is, 2025 was a bit of a down year for the left-handed pitcher. Valdez’s ERA of 3.66 is the highest since becoming a big league regular. In the past five years, Valdez has finished with an ERA of 3.15 or lower three times, including two seasons with an ERA of 2.91 or lower. In 2024, he had a 2.91 ERA and 3.25 FIP in 176.1 innings, finishing seventh in Cy Young voting. The 2022 season saw him finish fifth in Cy Young voting in what was a career-best season.
Of course, there are downsides to signing Valdez. As noted earlier, adding another starter would cause a logjam as the Jays already have six starters. Additionally, Valdez received a qualifying offer from Houston Astros, meaning that any team that signs him will lose a draft pick, or in the case of the Blue Jays, two. 
After signing Cease, the Jays lost their second and fifth-round picks in the 2026 draft, on top of their first rounder dropping 10 spots. If they were to sign Valdez, they’d also lose their third and sixth-round picks, giving them just three picks in the first six rounds (they received a compensation pick after the fourth round for losing Bichette).
Valdez would make the Jays better while giving them a left-handed pitcher, but the rotation isn’t a need heading into the 2026 season. Realistically, the way they can raise their ceiling is by adding another bat in their lineup. With Tucker, Bichette, Cody Bellinger, and Alex Bregman all off the market, the best way for the Jays to add is through a trade.
That said, adding Valdez would arguably make their rotation one of the strongest in baseball, if not the strongest. It doesn’t seem likely, but adding another starter, especially a lefty, would make the Jays stronger heading into 2026.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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