An unusual sequence between the battery of Houston Astros pitcher Framber Valdez and catcher Cesar Salazar during the home loss to the New York Yankees on Tuesday night sparked speculation that Valdez intentionally hit his teammate in the chest with a pitch.
The teammates dismissed the idea, with Valdez apologizing for miscommunication on pitch selection after the 7-1 loss, and Valdez’s agent took extra steps Wednesday to defend his client.
“There’s no questioning what Framber is and what he represents to the team and his thought process on the team,” agent Ulises Cabrera, who represents Valdez, told the Houston Chronicle on Wednesday.
“The idea that he’s intentionally trying to injure one of his teammates is preposterous. It’s a complete lack of respect for who he is as a person and who he is as a player. And his body of work demonstrates that. Anything to the contrary is just completely misguided and it’s not right.”
Valdez, 31, who has spent his entire major league career with Houston and earned All-Star nods in 2022 and 2023, got into trouble when loading the bases in the Yankees’ half of the fifth inning with the Astros down 2-0.
When Valdez appeared to shake off Salazer’s sign for a curveball on a 1-0 pitch to New York’s Trent Grisham, the catcher waved at him to step off the mound. Instead, Valdez threw a sinker, which Grisham blasted for a grand slam.
The Yankees’ Anthony Volpe was the next batter. With a 1-0 count, a sinker hit Salazar’s chest protector, catching him off guard because he was expecting a curveball. Valdez turned his back to the plate and paused as Salazar and Volpe stared at him.
Valdez explained after the game through interpreter Otto Loor that “we got crossed up.”
“When we got down to the dugout, I excused myself with (Salazar) and I said sorry to him and I take full responsibility for that,” Valdez said. “He called for a curveball, but I was already in mind that I was going to throw a sinker so that’s what I threw and that’s what happened.”
Both Salazar and Valdez said they have a good relationship, with Valdez saying, “I would never want to hurt somebody on purpose, but it’s stuff that happened and we were able to talk through it. We’re good.”
Salazer, 29, said he pressed the wrong button on the PitchCom transmitter, and no one heard it as the home ballpark, with many Yankees fans celebrating, remained buzzing after Grisham’s homer.
“It was a big spot for the Yankees,” Salazar said. “The stadium was loud and I thought I pressed the button, but I pressed the wrong button and I was expecting another pitch, but that was it. I pressed the wrong button and yeah, that’s what it was.”
Valdez’s agent, Cabrera, said his client didn’t expect observers to think he intentionally hit Salazar with the pitch.
“In no way, shape or form does the starting pitcher intentionally try to hurt his teammate,” Cabrera told the Chronicle. “Mix-ups happen all the time, just like a pitcher shaking (off a pitch) all the time. This is just not an issue.
“But it does become an issue when people question Framber’s quality as a teammate and his interest in defending his fellow players in the dugout on the field. He messed up. He admitted it. He got mixed up, done. But to suggest anything other than that is just wrong and it’s not acceptable.”
Valdez took the loss, allowing six runs on eight hits — including two home runs — and one walk, with eight strikeouts over five innings.
