Framber Valdez revealed exactly why Astros' current frame of mind is extremely flawed

There was absolutely no way the Houston Astros were going to sign both Framber Valdez and Kyle Tucker to contract extensions this past offseason. It's the biggest reason why Tucker was traded to the Chicago Cubs back in December and why the team almost did the same with Valdez before the Tucker trade materialized.

Still, it's a rather bold stance to skip out on paying both Tucker and Valdez. While the price tag itself is sure to be quite steep, the cost of letting Valdez leave this coming winter could be disastrous.

The Astros front office and ownership better take a good, long look at Valdez's performance from Opening Day before planting their flag and deciding to part company at season's end. Though it wasn't his most dominant start, life without Valdez could be quite problematic for Houston.

Framber Valdez revealed exactly why Astros' current frame of mind is extremely flawed

Valdez slogged his way through the Mets lineup on Thursday. The southpaw went seven strong and didn't allow a single run to the dent the plate. Fans and pundits can talk all that smack about pitchers being ahead of hitters at this early-stage of the season, but Valdez got by on sheer determination while effectively locating his pitches.

Valdez only allowed one extra-base hit all day — a double to Mets' backup catcher Luis Torrens. Otherwise, Valdez did what he does so often, and kept the hitters off balance. The lefty induced twice as many ground ball outs (8) as he did fly outs, and only struck out four batters.

Valdez spoke to the media before the season, and when asked about a potential contract extension, the Astros left-hander said that no negotiations have been had to this point. When asked about potential extension candidates before Opening Day, Astros owner Jim Crane said, "I don't think there's anybody in particular, but there's certain guys that we've worked on that in the past and will work on that in the future."

That would seem to be a rather long-winded way to say, we don't have plans to offer a contract extension to anyone at this time. It'll be interesting to see if Crane and Co. are singing the same tune come November or December. Trading Tucker and letting Alex Bregman walk were not easy decisions, but if the Astros allow their ace to enter the free agent market, things could take a turn for the worse rather quickly.

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