By the time Pete Alonso pulled on an Orioles jersey, the message was already loud enough. Baltimore is not tiptoeing through this offseason, and the New York Mets are learning that the hard way.
First the Orioles pried Alonso out of Queens with a five-year, $155 million deal that landed like a gut punch. Now they are circling another name the Mets have quietly but desperately needed to land for months: Framber Valdez.
A Familiar Need, Made Sharper by Misses
Everyone around the Mets understands the problem by now. They need a true top-of-the-rotation presence, someone who can take the ball every fifth day and absorb innings without the bullpen holding its breath by the fourth. That need only sharpened after Tatsuya Imai came off the board before the Mets could make a real push.
Valdez is not the pristine ace he once looked like in Houston, but context matters here. Pitchers who can reliably push toward 200 innings while keeping an ERA south of 3.80 do not exactly grow on trees. The Mets have spent the last few seasons learning how fragile rotation depth can be when things go sideways.
According to Mark Feinsand via Mets Batflip, the Orioles and Mets have been the two teams most consistently connected to Valdez. That tracks. Both clubs see a contender-shaped roster with one very obvious missing piece.
Framber Valdez, Warts and All
Valdez’s 3.66 ERA in 2025 was his highest since 2019, and it tells a clear story. The ceiling is no longer elite. The margin is thinner. The stuff does not overpower lineups the way it once did.
But the floor still matters, especially for a Mets rotation that has lived too close to it. Valdez continues to miss bats at nearly a strikeout per inning. He keeps the ball on the ground. He competes deep into games, often when others fade. Those traits age better than raw velocity, and they play in October if the Mets can get there.
For a team that has leaned heavily on patchwork solutions and short-term fixes, Valdez represents stability more than stardom. That has value, even if it does not light up the back of a baseball card.
The Orioles Are Playing Offense
Baltimore’s presence complicates everything. The Orioles did not hand Alonso $155 million to admire the view. They believe their window is open, and their rotation needs the same jolt their lineup just received.
That matters for the Mets, because this is not a rebuilding club dabbling in free agency. The Orioles can sell momentum, youth, and a clear competitive arc. They can also sell the idea that Valdez does not have to be the savior, just the stabilizer.
If the Mets want him, they will need to be decisive.
Balancing Acts and Hard Choices
The Mets are also chasing outfield help, which means resources and attention are being split. That is the quiet tension of this offseason. Every move connects to another, and every delay risks another door closing.
Still, make no mistake about the priority. Whether through free agency or trade, the Mets are determined to land a frontline starter. Valdez has emerged as one of the clearest paths left to that outcome.
Baltimore already stole the winter’s emotional headline from Queens. If they take Valdez too, it will say less about bad luck and more about urgency. And for the Mets, urgency might be the point. They don’t want a repeat of last year, when rotation issues likely cost them a postseason berth in late September.