Only one week remains before MLB teams officially open their spring training camps, and the Baltimore Orioles are still considered the favorites to land former Houston Astros free agent left-hander Framber Valdez.
But according to a top baseball insider, the Toronto Blue Jays are emerging as the “biggest threat” to the Orioles in the race to sign the two-time All-Star, who is projected to receive a six-year, $200 million contract.
Valdez is without a doubt the most coveted free agent pitcher remaining unsignedâor free agent of any kind at this point. The top four of the Oriolesâ rotation as of now would be Trevor Rogersâwho finished with a stellar 1.81 ERA while limited to just 109 2/3 innings last yearâKyle Bradish and two of Shane Baz, Dean Kremer or Zach Eflin.
Topping that group with eight-year veteran Valdez and his career 3.36 ERA would immediately make the O’s American League East contenders, after finishing with just 75 wins last season.
But according to longtime MLB insider Bob Nightengale, writing on Wednesday for USA Today, the Blue Jays could have something to say about that.
Blue Jays ‘Biggest Threat’ to Sign Valdez
After coming just two outs short of nailing down their first World Series championship since 1993, the Blue Jays have put together an offseason that has spared little expense at getting them over the top in 2026âcommitting $337 million so far in new free agent multiyear contracts.
In his Wednesday analysis, Nightengale asks, “So why not push it closer to $500 million?”
Of course, in addition to the contracts for free agents Dylan Cease, Kazuma Okamoto, Cody Ponce and Tyler Rogers, the Blue Jays also paid $10.875 million to Japan’s Tokyo Yomiuri Giants as a posting fee for Okamoto, and another $16 million to starter Shane Bieber who unexpectedly exercised his player option to stay in Toronto for 2026.
And none of that takes into account that last April, the Blue Jays kept the face of their franchise in Toronto by bestowing a 14-year, $500 million contract extension on first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Valdez would likely cost another $33.3 million per year, according to Spotrac estimates. Nonetheless, according to Nightengale, “the Oriolesâ biggest threat to signing Valdez is the Blue Jays.”
Blue Jays Reportedly Offered Kyle Tucker $350 Million
The USA Today MLB insider notes that in January, the Blue Jays reportedly had an offer to free agent slugger Kyle Tuckerâwho ended up signing with the Los Angeles Dodgersâfor 10 years and $350 million.
If the Jays had that money available for Tucker, why not spend what will likely be only about 60 percent of that amount on Valdez, Nightengale wondered.
“If they signed Valdez, they will have locked up the top two starters on the market, having already signed Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract. They would be even further flush with starters with Valdez, Cease, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce and Jose Berrios,” Nightengale wrote. “Considering that Gausman and Bieber are free agents after the 2026 season, the signing of Valdez makes perfect sense.”
Nightengale also says that the Blue Jays, despite posing the most serious challenge to Baltimore in the Valdez race, are not alone. The San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers are also potential landing spots for Valdez, Nightengale wrote.
According to another insider, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, even the Pittsburgh Pirates have surprisingly emerged as Valdez suitors, hoping to entice the Dominican Republic native with a short-term deal including opt-out clauses.
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