However, Valdez made a starting revelation at spring training on Thursday, saying that the Astros haven’t even approached him about a deal.
From Chandler Rome of The Athletic:
Framber Valdez said the Astros haven’t approached him or his agent about an extension.
An All-Star in 2022 and 2023, Valdez has four consecutive years of double-digit wins for Houston, including going 17-6 in 2022. He’s also finished in the top ten of American League Cy Young voting in each of the last three years and helped the Astros win the World Series in that 2022 season. It seems unfathomable that the team hasn’t at least reached out to gauge his interest in staying in Houston long-term, especially after the Astros just lost Alex Bregman, Ryan Pressly, Kye Tucker and Justin Verlander this offseason.
Lifetime, Valdez is 68-41 in his career.
The Astros are coming off a season in which they won the American League West over the Seattle Mariners and advanced to the playoffs yet again. But they were upended by the Detroit Tigers in the wild card round of the playoffs, getting swept in two games.
The Astros open up the season on March 27 against the New York Mets. That will be a highly-anticipated matchup as Juan Soto debuts for the Mets. Valdez is expected to be on the mound for Houston.
Houston Astros Expected to ‘Gradually’ Move All-Star Infielder to Outfield
With spring training nearly underway for the Houston Astros, the new-look team will be trying to bounce back from a disappointing campaign in 2024.
Coming into spring training, there are going to be plenty of questions to answer for the Astros. This was a team that saw a ton of change this winter and there are a lot of new faces.
Despite losing some key players, Houston will certainly be expecting to contend still in the American League. Before losing to the Detroit Tigers in the American League Wild Card, the Astros made the American League Championship Series for seven straight years.
The team certainly had the talent to reach that goal again last year, but ultimately the wild card round can be flukey.
With a lot of new faces and the team seemingly trying to rebrand a bit, some veterans might be asked to move around to do what’s best for the organization.
Chandler Rome of The Athletic recently wrote about Jose Altuve potentially moving into left field with or without the return of Alex Bregman.
“Re-signing Bregman would all but guarantee Altuve moves to left field, but even if Bregman goes elsewhere, the Astros can construct their roster to gradually move Altuve off the dirt,” he wrote.
In the blockbuster deal that sent Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs, two of the main pieces that they got back in return can play third base. This resulted in many believing that Bregman would certainly be signing elsewhere.
However, the former All-Star has still yet to sign, and Houston is still in the mix. If they did re-sign him, that would likely move Isaac Paredes to second base and Altuve to the outfielder.
Furthermore, it appears that whether the Astros re-sign their star third baseman or not, they plan on moving Altuve into the outfield gradually.
With a significant drop off in defensive abilities, moving the All-Star second baseman into the outfield makes sense. Even though left field in Houston has some quirks, the position overall is one of the easiest to play defensively.
Keeping Altuve’s bat in the lineup is key for the Astros and with Yordan Alvarez as the permanent designated hitter, they need to find a spot for the talented second baseman.
This move makes a lot of sense with or without Bregman. Cam Smith is the other third baseman that they received from the Cubs and a 2025 timeline for him isn’t out of the question.
Overall, getting Altuve work in the outfield this spring to help cover up his defensive inefficiencies makes sense. Also, if they find a way to bring back Bregman, the loss of Tucker all of a sudden is a bit easier to handle.
Leave a Reply