Framber Valdez could soon be winding up pitching in the AL East.
Valdez is the top free agent starting pitcher available, as multiple teams have shown interest in the left-hander. One team that could show interest in Valdez is the Toronto Blue Jays, who fell short in landing Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette.
However, Blue Jays insider Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet believes the Baltimore Orioles, another division rival of the Boston Red Sox, will likely land Valdez.
“It’s unclear how much recent contact they’ve had with Framber Valdez, but for what it’s worth I heard they met with him in person at the Las Vegas GM Meetings (pre-Cease deal) and there was some mutual interest at that point,” Nicholson-Smith wrote, in a piece published on Friday.
“If the Blue Jays wanted to go all-in on run prevention, they could reignite those talks, but most in the industry consider the Mets and Baltimore Orioles more likely suitors for the left-hander.”
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If the Orioles do land Valdez, it would only make the AL East that much better and the chances of the Red Sox winning the division much more difficult.
Last season with the Houston Astros, Valdez was 13-11 with a 3.66 ERA in 31 starts.
Valdez is a two-time MLB All-Star and helped the Astros win the World Series in 2022.
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