A funny thing happens when a rotation starts springing leaks: every flaw you thought you could patch suddenly looks like a crater. The New York Mets lived that reality in June, when the injuries hit in waves and the season tilted off balance. Tylor Megill went down. Kodai Senga, too. Sean Manaea’s form never settled.
By the time the rookies arrived with adrenaline and hope, the math was already working against them. Nolan McLean’s rise was fun and exciting, but it can’t remedy what happened in the first four months. The Mets spent the final months looking like a team that was one or two starters short because they were.
A Clear Mandate From the Front Office
David Stearns didn’t hide from that assessment. The Mets’ president of baseball operations has said plenty without needing dramatic statements. You can tell by the names circulating around the team: they’re hunting real pitching. Not depth. Not fliers. Arms with weight and track record. The Mets don’t want another summer where the staff frays and the entire operation has to be held together with rookies and crossed fingers.
That urgency explains why New York keeps surfacing in conversations about nearly every major starter available. Tatsuya Imai. Michael King. Several trade candidates. And yes, Framber Valdez.
When Mark Feinsand reported that the Mets and Orioles were among the favorites for the former Astros lefty, it didn’t feel like posturing. It felt like Stearns putting himself in a race he fully intends to win.
Why Familiarity Matters
Stearns also knows Valdez better than most executives working the market. He was in Houston’s front office when the lefty signed. Orioles GM Mike Elias overlapped there too, which makes Baltimore a natural player in the chase.
That shared history is a reminder that this isn’t guesswork for either side. Stearns has seen Valdez at his best and his worst, and front offices value familiarity more than fans sometimes realize.
Valdez, at 32, isn’t the kind of pitcher you acquire hoping he suddenly unveils wipeout strikeout stuff. His game has always been built on grounders, stamina, and the kind of reliability that makes managers breathe easier. Maybe his absolute peak is behind him. It doesn’t matter as much as it once did. What the Mets need now is an arm they can keep handing the ball to every fifth day without fearing the fallout.
The Numbers Tell the Story
The stat line still makes its own case. A 3.66 ERA in 192 innings. A 4.0 fWAR season. One hundred eighty-seven strikeouts, which is more than enough when you’re limiting damage and piling up innings. Most importantly, he has cleared at least 175 innings for four straight years. No pitcher on the 2025 Mets reached that mark. If you want to understand why Valdez fits what New York is trying to build, start there.
This Mets rotation doesn’t need a savior. It needs stability. Someone who shortens the bullpen’s workload and keeps the schedule intact. Someone whose floor is high enough that the entire staff benefits. Valdez offers exactly that profile, and the years ahead should still sync with the Mets’ competitive window.
The Right Fit at the Right Time
There will be flashier pursuits this winter, and there will be louder debates about ceiling versus cost. But sometimes the clearest solution is also the most straightforward. If the Mets want to avoid repeating last summer’s collapse, they need durability at the front of the staff. Valdez brings it in a way few pitchers on the market can.
Stearns has made his intentions obvious. The Mets intend to add real pitching, not patchwork. If that plan leads them to Valdez, it would be less a gamble than a correction the roster has been begging for.