Tigers' Framber Valdez move forces Guardians fans to accept new Tarik Skubal reality

On Wednesday, the Framber Valdez dam finally broke. And the Cleveland Guardians are standing in the way of the oncoming rush in a way that no one expected. 

Not only did the Tigers add Valdez to their roster via a three-year, $115 million deal on Wednesday, but it also seems like it’s a move they made because they’re planning on keeping ace Tarik Skubal, who went to arbitration court with Skubal earlier in the day. 

While it seemed like the Tigers taking Skubal to arbitration court could end up resulting in a divorce between the two parties, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported on Wednesday that the Tigers are planning on holding onto Skubal even with Valdez in the fold. 

The Guardians are going to have to compete with a shutdown rotation from the Tigers in 2026 

It’s pretty wild how the Tigers signing Valdez changes the entire tenor of Detroit’s offseason. Prior to Wednesday night, the biggest storylines around the Tigers this winter were their inability to sign Skubal to a long-term deal and their lack of impact moves in free agency. 

Valdez’s deal changed that, even if it came on the same day where the Tigers took Skubal to arbitration court. 

Prior to signing Valdez, the Tigers’ biggest moves were signing Kenley Jansen and Kyle Finnegan along with reuniting with Gleyber Torres and Jack Flaherty. Solid moves, but nothing that moved the needle in the same way that signing Valdez does. 

Although Valdez had a 3.66 ERA last season (a down year by his standards), he’s a two-time All-Star who earned Cy Young votes in every season from 2022 to ‘24.

The obvious red flag on his profile is how things went for him at the end of last season, as he had a 6.05 ERA across August and September and was put in the middle of some controversy when he hit catcher César Salazar in the chest with a pitch in what seemed like an intentional move. 

Even if those struggles likely played a part in Valdez lingering so long in free agency, he still ended up getting his payday from the Tigers and will now be a part of one of the best 1-2 punches in all of baseball. 

While signing Valdez wasn’t a necessity for the Guardians considering they already have a stellar rotation stocked with young controllable pitchers, Valdez ending up with the Tigers will obviously make things tougher for the Guardians as they try to win their third-straight American League Central title. 

Both teams have a surplus of young, MLB-ready prospects, but the Tigers took an offseason swing that the Guardians stayed away from. Even if Skubal may not be long for the division, it looks like the fight for the division crown is going to be a dogfight.