Full Details of Framber Valdez's free agency exit finalized after Astros make No. 133 draft pick

The final detail of Framber Valdez's departure from the Houston Astros has been completed. By way of Valdez turning down the qualifying offer from the Astros last offseason, Houston secured the No. 133 selection in the 2026 MLB Draft.

With the selection, the Astros took high school infielder Beau Peterson. He's believed to be one of the better prep power hitters in this year's draft class, but there was some regression on that end over the past year. He has a commitment with Texas, so the Astros may have to go over-slot if they want to keep him in the organization.

There was speculation toward the end of the offseason that Valdez could make a return to Houston, but the math wasn't calculating, considering Houston's payroll outlook. Nonetheless, the Astros certainly weren't going to match the creative three-year deal offered by the Detroit Tigers.

Astros' No. 133 selection in 2026 MLB Draft closes the Framber Valdez era

Fow now, it seems that the Astros were right to steer clear of a reunion with Valdez. Through his first 19 starts with the Tigers this season, he's carrying an ERA of 4.10. He's still generating ground balls, but the biggest difference is that he's missing fewer bats. Valdez is striking out 18.6% of the hitters he's facing this season, down from 23.3% last year.

Perhaps things would be different if Valdez remained in Houston, but that also felt like an act that reached an expiration date.

Of course, the book is still out on if the Astros effectively replaced Valdez in the rotation. Tatsuya Imai remains an enigma. At times, Imai has looked like the the top-of-the-rotation pitcher the Astros expected him to. Other times, he looks completely lost on the mound. Mike Burrows, the big addition in the three-way trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays, was recently optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land.

It's worth noting the Astros also focused on pitching during the early rounds of the 2026 MLB Draft. They took an under-slot college outfielder in Logan Hughes with their first-round pick, but their next two selections were college pitchers. There's hope that Notre Dame product Jack Radel could move quickly through the organization, and Wes Mendes of Florida State has one of the better offspeed pitches of any pitcher in this draft class.

Neither, obviously, is going to be an immediate replacement of what the Astros had in Valdez, but they check the simplest box of adding pitching depth across the organization for Dana Brown and Co.

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