Framber Valdez’s appearance at GM Meeting can mean only one thing for the Astros

Jim Bowden might believe that the Houston Astros are a likely landing spot for Framber Valdez, but the rest of the world knows that it's a real long shot. The Astros tagged Valdez with the qualifying offer, knowing full well the ace is likely to decline. The point of the whole exercise is to recoup a draft asset for a player they know they have no shot at re-signing.

Valdez's latest stunt just confirmed his exit. In a bold move, Valdez showed up at the general managers meeting to speak with teams and gladhand executives in hopes of driving his market as high as it can go. For a cash-strapped team like the Astros, participating in a bidding war for one of the market's premier aces just isn't in the cards.

Framber Valdez's stunt at the General Manager Meetings all but assures he won't be back with the Astros

In all honesty, this is nothing new. The writing has been on the wall for a while, and the infamous cross-up incident with catcher César Salazar was the nail in the proverbial coffin. Without those bad optics, perhaps a reunion could be in the cards if Valdez were willing to offer up a hometown discount, but by virtue of his GM Meeting appearance, you can throw that idea out of the window.

In a way, it might be for the best. Valdez's second-half slump coincided with the Astros' 2025 collapse, and while there was more that led to Houston's downfall than his poor performance, it's undeniable that the vibes just aren't right.

Still, that leaves the Astros with a huge hole to fill. It's early, but the strategy so far seems to be rehabilitating former top prospects, like Nate Pearson and Peter Lambert. Those might be fine as fliers and depth options, but Houston will need much to fill the No. 2 hole in the starting rotation.

While Houston has been linked to top-end arms like Dylan Cease, perhaps a more prudent course of action would be an older stopgap type like Merrill Kelly, who won't cost nearly as much in terms of dollars or years. Whichever path they take, you can count on it not including Valdez. With that, the club is going to need Dana Brown to pull a rabbit out of his hat to stabilize the rotation for a 2026 playoff run.