Examining the fit of Framber Valdez on the Blue Jays in the unlikely event they add another starter

As it stands now, the Jays have six realistic options for the rotation, including rookie Trey Yesavage, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber and José Berríos. All six of these starting pitchers have one thing in common: they are all right-handed, while 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 is in the mid-90s with his heater and has done a fantastic job of generating soft contact groundouts. For his career, Valdez has a groundball percentage of 61.8%. Just imagine how Valdez would perform with the Blue Jays defense behind him.

The thing is, 2025 was a bit of a bad year for the left-handed pitcher. Valdez’s ERA of 3.66 is the highest since he became a major league fixture. In the last five years, Valdez 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 and finished seventh in the Cy Young voting. In the 2022 season, he finished fifth in Cy Young voting in what was a career-best season.

Of course, there are downsides to signing Valdez. As noted earlier, add another starter would cause a logjam since the Jays already have six starters. Additionally, Valdez received a qualifying offer from the Houston Astros, meaning 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 falling 10 spots. If they were to sign Valdez, they would also lose their third and sixth round picks, giving them only three picks in the first six rounds (they received a compensatory pick after the fourth round for losing Bichette).

Valdez would make the Jays better by giving them a left-handed pitcher, but the rotation isn’t necessary for the 2026 season. Realistically, the way they can raise their ceiling is by adding another bat to their lineup. With Tucker, Bichette, Cody Bellinger and Alex Bregman all off the market, the best way for the Jays to add something 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 left-hander, would make the Jays stronger heading into 2026.