"No real precedent in the Scott Harris era" - Tigers insider explains why Framber Valdez won't land in Detroit

A two-time All-Star and World Series winner, Framber Valdez is one of the most highly-regarded starting pitchers on the free-agent market this winter. Plenty of teams have been linked with the Dominican, one of them being the Detroit Tigers.

According to insider Cody Stavenhagen, however, such a move might not end up materializing, even though it appears to perfectly suit the Tigers' needs. He explained why on Wednesday's episode of "Tiger Territory."

"It doesn't seem like the Tigers like to hand out large multi-year deals, Stavenhagen said (Timestamp: 14:41). "I think it's completely fair to bring this up more. You have a really good team, you have a playoff-caliber team that could benefit from another frontline starter. Assuming you're going to keep Tarik Skubal, imagine a one-two punch of Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez, or even Ranger Suarez.

"Those are two left-handed arms that could completely eviscerate some left-handed teams. You know who's pretty left-handed? The Cleveland Guardians, your biggest rivals in the division. I just don't know if I foresee the Tigers paying that sort of deal, especially to a pitcher. There's no real precedent for that in the (Tigers president of baseball operations) Scott Harris era."

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Former Mets GM links Framber Valdez with another AL team

Speaking to MLB Network Radio on Monday, former New York Mets general manager Jim Duquette was of the opinion that the Baltimore Orioles should pursue frontline starting pitchers like Framber Valdez or Tatsuya Imai.

"Everybody in the whole sport knows that the priority is starting pitching. So does (Baltimore Orioles president of baseball operations) Mike Elias," Duquette said. "But sometimes, those opportunities don't present themselves right away. Opportunities that presented themselves right away were a middle of the order bat, okay, a leverage seventh-eighth inning guy, okay. Back end reliever, you got that.

"Now, that allows you to wait and try to get probably two starting pitchers. I don't think it's one. That's basically what they need. They need like a (Framber Valdez), or (Tatsuya) Imai, somebody like that to be in the top two or three of the starting rotation, like they have with (Trevor) Rogers and (Kyle) Bradish."

Kansas City Royals v Houston Astros - Source: Getty

According to reports, Framber Valdez is projected to secure a contract in the range of $160 million this winter.