Framber Valdez hasn't been good enough for Tigers, who lose to Twins

The Detroit Tigers signed left-hander Framber Valdez to a three-year, $115 million contract in February 2026, giving him the largest average annual salary ever for a left-handed pitcher in free agency.

The 32-year-old surrendered four runs across five innings in the Tigers' 6-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday, June 10, in the second of three games in the series at Comerica Park.

The Tigers have a 28-40 record – becoming the fourth MLB team to reach 40 losses in the 2026 season, following the Colorado Rockies (42 losses), Los Angeles Angels (42 losses) and San Francisco Giants (41 losses).

Valdez completed a scoreless first inning, then inclement weather put the game on pause between the top of the first and bottom of the first inning.

Despite the delay, Valdez returned for the second inning – only to surrender a solo home run to Royce Lewis with two outs.

He left a sinker up in the zone and paid the price for the poor location, as Lewis hit the pitch 444 feet to left-center field with a 107.6 mph exit velocity.

Entering Wednesday, Valdez – known as an elite ground-ball pitcher – had a career-high 25.3% fly-ball rate, with a career-low 49.3% ground-ball rate.

The biggest swing occurred when Byron Buxton blasted a first-pitch, middle-away changeup for a three-run home run to left-center field, but the damage wouldn't have been the same if not for back-to-back hit-by-pitches by Valdez.