{"id":10206,"date":"2026-02-04T04:24:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T09:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betting.ca\/news\/?p=10206"},"modified":"2026-02-04T08:32:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T13:32:24","slug":"toronto-blue-jays-keep-an-eye-on-framber-valdez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betting.ca\/news\/toronto-blue-jays-keep-an-eye-on-framber-valdez","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jays Keep an Eye on Framber Valdez"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"380\" height=\"250\" src=\"http:\/\/www.betting.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/framber-valdez.jpg\" alt=\"Framber Valdez\" class=\"wp-image-10207\" style=\"width:300px\" title=\" Toronto Blue Jays Keep an Eye on Framber Valdez\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Toronto is among several teams linked to free agent left-hander Framber Valdez.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Valdez is seen as the top arm still available after turning down a qualifying offer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Jays already have rotation depth but may still be exploring upgrades.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.betting.ca\/news\/toronto-blue-jays-clinch-american-league-east-and-top-seed-with-excellent-finale\">Toronto Blue Jays<\/a><\/strong> is just one of the several teams checking in on free agent left-hander <strong>Framber Valdez<\/strong>, according to Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Valdez is widely viewed as the top remaining name on the market. He and right-hander <strong>Zac Gallen are the only two free agents still available<\/strong> who turned down the $22.05 million qualifying offer earlier in the offseason, which might help explain why interest remains strong even this late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-all-star-player-can-handle-big-moments\">The All-Star Player Can Handle Big Moments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At 32, Valdez has been a steady presence in the Astros\u2019 rotation for years. Last <a href=\"https:\/\/www.betting.ca\/baseball\/\">MLB<\/a> season, he went <strong>13-11 with a 3.66 ERA over 31 starts, striking out 187 hitters in 192 innings<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those numbers line up well with what he has done since becoming a full-time starter in 2020. Over that span, he owns a 3.23 ERA, has been named an All-Star twice, and built a reputation as someone who can handle big moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Framber Valdez | 2025 Highlights\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4zUdkwvF2vY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>That was on full display in 2022, when Valdez played a key role in Houston\u2019s World Series run. He posted a 1.46 ERA across two starts in the Fall Classic, helping the Astros beat the Phillies in six games.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, the eight-year veteran has a <strong>3.36 ERA across 188 regular-season appearances<\/strong>, a track record that continues to make him attractive to contenders looking for rotation help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"busy-transfer-season\">Busy Transfer Season&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Toronto has already been active this winter, especially when it comes to pitching. The headline move was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/mlb\/article\/blue-jays-officially-sign-dylan-cease-to-seven-year-210-million-deal\/\">seven-year, $210 million deal for <strong>Dylan Cease<\/strong><\/a>, a clear sign the front office wanted to make a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Jays also brought in right-hander <strong>Cody Ponce<\/strong> on a three-year, $30 million contract, and <strong>Shane Biebe<\/strong>r chose to opt into his $16 million player option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As things stand, Toronto has a deep group of starters under contract for the upcoming season. <strong>Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Jose Berrios<\/strong> are all in place, with <strong>Eric Lauer<\/strong> and <strong>Bowden Francis<\/strong> also returning after combining for 29 starts last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether that depth keeps the Blue Jays from making another big move remains to be seen. However, their reported interest in Valdez suggests they are still looking closely at any chance to upgrade, even with a rotation that already appears well stocked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Summary: The Toronto Blue Jays is just one of the several teams checking in on free agent left-hander Framber Valdez, according to Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Valdez is widely viewed as the top remaining name on the market. He and right-hander Zac Gallen are the only two free agents [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":10207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-canada","category-sports","category-usa"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Blue Jays Keep an Eye on Framber Valdez<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Framber Valdez is still on the Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 radar as the team continues to weigh its options on the pitching market.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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