The Houston Astros have two of the best frontline starters in all of MLB, with Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez taking control of the starting rotation.
Houston's front office will have a big decision to make regarding Framber Valdez, who is expected to have a near $200 million evaluation, and it's unclear whether or not the Astros want to dish out that much for the now 31-year-old.
Framber Valdez 'good as gone' in free agency
Stephen Parello, an Astros writer for FanSided, believes there is no way that Valdez resigns with Houston this Winter:
"Valdez was likely to be out of Houston's price range, and that was before they took on most of Carlos Correa's money, which will put an even greater strain on the budget over the next few years. However, Valdez "unintentionally" crossing up catcher César Salazar on Tuesday against the Yankees probably sealed his fate. It will be tough to lose an arm of Valdez's caliber, but for the sake of team chemistry (not the mention the bottom line), he's as good as gone."
Framber Valdez is putting together another quality season as a starter. His ERA is 3.42 over 176.1 innings. He has two complete games and leads the AL in HR/9 (0.6).
The 31-year-old southpaw is in his eighth season with the Astros, but now there is a fork in the road. It will be up to Framber and his agent on where and for how much they want to sign. There is certainly a world where Valdez returns to Houston, but the Astros would have to open up the checkbook and likely commit to him for another five to six years.