Instead, less than one week before the start of spring training, he sits unemployed.
Valdez, 32, the two-time All-Star who has averaged 30 starts a year the past four seasons, with Cy Young votes in three of them, was arguably the best pitcher on the free-agent market.
He was projected to be the highest-paid player this winter outside his former Houston Astros teammate, Kyle Tucker. Yet, three full months have come and gone, and Valdez continues to wait with questions abound throughout the game.
Is he asking for too much money? Are teams concerned about the wear and tear on his arm, pitching 809 innings in the regular season and postseason the past four years?
Do they wonder whether Valdez intentionally hit his own catcher, Cesar Salazar, in the chest with a 93-mph fastball out of frustration in September after giving up a grand slam against the New York Yankees?
Whatever the reason, or if it’s simply a matter of a slow developing market for free agent pitchers, Valdez is easily the best player remaining on the market.
With time running out, in a survey of scouts, executives and agents, here are their predictions for the top six candidates to sign Valdez:
Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles remain the heavy favorite to sign Valdez, and could turn a fabulous winter into a spectacular one. And let’s face it, if they’re going to have a real chance to bounce back and win the AL East, they need another front-line starter.
Valdez would give them a formidable rotation with Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz, Dean Kremer and Zach Eflin already in the mix. And remember, they were aggressive in the bidding for Ranger Suarez before he signed a five-year, $130 million deal with the Boston Red Sox.
The Orioles are clearly the team to beat in the Valdez sweepstakes, executives believe.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Orioles’ biggest threat to signing Valdez is the Blue Jays. They’ve had perhaps the best winter of any team in baseball, spending $337 million to give them every chance for a return trip to the World Series. So why not push it closer to $500 million?
If they signed Valdez, they will have locked up the top two starters on the market, having already signed Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract. They would be even further flush with starters with Valdez, Cease, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce and Jose Berrios. Considering that Gausman and Bieber are free agents after the 2026 season, the signing of Valdez makes perfect sense.
Besides, if they had $350 million to sign Kyle Tucker before he went to the Dodgers, why not give up a chunk of that to Valdez?
San Diego Padres
They haven’t done anything all winter besides bringing back Michael King and signing Korean infielder Sung-mun Song, and may have trouble enough keeping up with the San Francisco Giants – let alone the Dodgers. The signing of Valdez could save the offseason..
Financial constraints and an impending sale has handicapped them, but if Yu Darvish walks away from the $43 million he’s owed – including $16 million this season – the Padres could use it to find a creative way of bringing in Valdez. It would be similar to their deal a year ago with free agent Nick Pivetta when he was left stranded on the free agent market, giving him an opt-out after two seasons.
The Padres are a longshot compared to the Orioles and Blue Jays chances, but with GM A.J. Preller at the helm, you can never rule anything out.
Chicago Cubs
You want the Cubs’ fans to lose their minds after their fine winter? Go ahead and sign Valdez, giving them a team that could not only run win the NL Central, but peraps challenge the mighty Dodgers.
The Cubs, who already dropped $175 million with the Alex Bregman signing, would have a sensational rotation of Justin Steele (when he returns the second half), Edward Cabrera, Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon in the mix for starts.
The Cubs, who have been engaged in talks with fellow free agent Zac Gallen, will need another front-line starter in a year, anyways, with Boyd, Taillon and Imanaga all free agents after the 2026 season.
Detroit Tigers
Can you imagine a rotation with Tarik Skubal and Valdez as your 1-2 punch? It would bring back memories when Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer were leading their powerful rotation during their glory days.
While it may seem to be far-fetched, the Tigers have to face reality, too. They are not going to fork out $400 million and sign Skubal when he hits free agency in 10 months. They will have a gaping hole in the rotation. So why not be proactive and grab his replacement a year early? This would give them a rotation of Skubal, Valdez, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, Reese Olson and Drew Anderson to start 2026.
They would have the team built for a deep October run. Who says no?
Milwaukee Brewers
We get it. If you can’t afford to keep Freddy Peralta, why turn around and spend money for Valdez? Yet, the Peralta trade was simply acknowledging they couldn’t keep him a year from now.
Considering the Brewers have spent only $1.25 million in free agency this winter, and the fans are loudly grumbling about losing Peralta. Why not get them feeling as if you’re giving away free beer and cheese curds at all home games?
The Brewers privately say they still are interested in signing a free-agent pitcher, they could shoot for the sunand leave the Cubs cursing under their breath.
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