Framber Valdez Suspended 5 Games For Drilling Boston’s Trevor Story

BusinessSportsMoneyFramber Valdez Suspended 5 Games For Drilling Boston’s Trevor StoryByDan Freedman,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Dan Freedman is lawyer and IBWAA member who writes about baseball.Follow AuthorMay 07, 2026, 02:03pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Framber Valdez of the Detroit Tigers walks to the clubhouse after being for drilling Boston's Trevor Story. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)Getty ImagesFramber Valdez should have been one of the hottest pitchers on the off-season free agent market. And yet, he lingered out there until the eve of spring training, finally finding a taker. The Detroit Tigers inked the pitcher to a three-year, $115 million contract to bolster their staff and to prepare for the (inevitable?) day when Tarik Skubal leaves for greener pastures and considerably more green.On the surface, the deal Valdez signed was quite a coup: $17.5 million this season, $37.5 million in 2027, and $35 million in 2028, if he doesn’t elect to opt out after the second year of the deal. The deal allows him to re-enter the market as a 34-year old, after a new collective bargaining agreement is signed, and try to lock up even more guaranteed money.But when you dig deeper and when you compare Valdez’s deal to, say Gerrit Cole’s nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees (signed when he was three years younger than Valdez), or Blake Snell’s five-year, $182 million contract with the Dodgers (signed at roughly the same age), or Max Fried’s eight-year, $218 million deal with the Yankees (signed at age-31), or Dylan Cease’s seven-year, $210 million contract with the Blue Jays (he was just two years younger than Valdez), it seems that there was considerably less appetite for the three-time Top-10 Cy Young Award finisher.And why was that? Let us count the reasons.Crossing Up His CatcherLast season, in a f...