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Astros re-acquire Justin Verlander

Discussion in 'Houston Astros' started by J.R., Aug 1, 2023.

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Do you like the trade?

This poll will close on Aug 1, 2025 at 2:05 PM.
  1. YES

    84.8%
  2. NO

    15.2%
  1. houstonstime

    houstonstime Member

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  2. marks0223

    marks0223 2017 and 2022 World Series Champions
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    I get it but they are trying to win a WS in a window that has a few years left. Go for it while you can. Your outfield is Yordan, Chas, and Tucker for the next 2 and half years and that's how long Verlander will be here as long as he vests next year.
     
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  3. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    Great we are in win now mode!

    DD
     
    vince, cmlmel77, Rock Block and 2 others like this.
  4. Houstunna

    Houstunna The Most Unbiased Fan
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    Yeah, and 790 just said Mets are sending no money.

    Not sure if they were joking, but DAMN if no money

    B2B2B championships would help my dismay
     
  5. Clutch City1993

    Clutch City1993 Bury Me In The H
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    Chas/Brown > Gilbert/Clifford

    Only because of windows and timing

    Silly to compare careers overall. Irrelevant.
     
    Chasing_Chase likes this.
  6. Qan

    Qan Member

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    So now we get to see more of Maldy catching. Yay....
     
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  7. lnchan

    lnchan Sugar Land Leonard

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    I think you are right since he was offered a QO previously... drat
     
  8. Phillyrocket

    Phillyrocket Member

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    Got to try and win now so I’m supportive.

    Verlander and Graveman fill the major holes; sure as hell wish Brantley would return.
     
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  9. Mr.Pringles

    Mr.Pringles Member

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    And we drafted these guys after that. It’s not hard to replenish prospects. Astros top six prospects were/are all OF’ers and if we extend Tucker there’s no place for any of them in the next 5+ years
     
    phasors28 likes this.
  10. lnchan

    lnchan Sugar Land Leonard

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    Time to show JV that he pitched better to non Maldy catchers last year.
     
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  11. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    His leadership will help the young guys too.....this is a great trade, minor leaguers may or may not develop, we have a winner here in a year in which we have a better than average chance of winning.

    Let's go STROS !

    DD
     
  12. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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    https://theathletic.com/live-blogs/...-news-rumors-deals/EO2zVcFcB68n/NFBP8wMrA1Yy/

    Don't let the strikeout rate fool you, Justin Verlander is still a difference-maker. By pairing a top-10 slider (among starters with minimum 50 innings pitched, by Stuff+) with a good curveball, average changeup and average fastball — and adding in the ability to command those pitches, as well as a high Moxy+ and Pitchability+ — he can still bang. He's a top-10 pitcher. Even at 40. even with his worst fastball velocity in seven years.

    Perhaps as a response to the fact that sliders are being hit harder this year than ever, Verlander has dialed back the usage on that breaker. That might have something to do with the missing strikeouts. Here's a bet that a return to the organization for which he had his highest strikeout rates will help him find the missing whiffs.

    In any case, the Astros had a need for a front-line starter this year. Cristian Javier's fastball has gone missing, and though youngsters Hunter Brown and J.P. France have been revelations, manager Dusty Baker will feel a lot better penciling in a future Hall of Famer next to Framber Valdez at the top of a rotation that's most likely going to play in October again.


    https://theathletic.com/4740145/2023/08/01/mlb-trade-grades-justin-verlander-astros-mets/

    The trade
    Astros get: RHP Justin Verlander, an as-yet uncertain (but probably significant) amount of cash
    Mets get: OF Drew Gilbert, OF Ryan Clifford

    Andy McCullough: The departure of Justin Verlander from the Houston Astros never made that much sense. Verlander loved his time in Houston, by all accounts. He won two World Series there. He led one of the best pitching staffs in the sport. And the team, fresh off a championship in 2022 and an American League pennant in 2021, certainly had the money to afford him. But when owner Jim Crane opted to let Verlander depart on a two-year, $86.6 million deal to the Mets, it looked like an era had ended.

    Or so it seemed.

    Credit to Crane for rectifying his offseason whiff. Houston needs Verlander more than ever, after losing starters Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr., and Jose Urquidy to injury. With Verlander back atop the rotation, the Astros look formidable for an October run — and the team still has time to catch up to the Rangers in the American League West. After a crummy opening to the season, Verlander has looked like himself, albeit somewhat diminished at 40, across his last seven starts, with a 1.49 ERA across 42 1/3 innings.

    Might as well circle the calendars for Sept. 4, when the Rangers host the Astros. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Verlander face off against his former teammate Max Scherzer, the newest member of Texas’s rotation.

    Meanwhile, the Mets are punting on 2024. Will they move Pete Alonso today, or wait until the winter? Gilbert was a first-round pick in 2022 who might be able to stick in center field. It’s actually a pretty good return. It’s just a bummer for Mets fans — for the next year or so, at least.

    Astros: A
    Mets: B

    Brittany Ghiroli: The Astros were always believed to be Verlander’s top — some say only — choice to waive his no-trade clause and leave the New York Mets, who by all accounts are amid a major selloff. While the Orioles had obvious interest and the prospect capital, the Padres inquired but were out of the running by late Monday night, and the Dodgers thought they could change his mind, Verlander would ultimately only OK a return to the place where he won two rings. This a huge win for Houston and a significant shift in the AL West race, as Astros owner Jim Crane stepped in and secured Verlander for a second time. For the Mets, there wasn’t a whole lot they could do in entertaining other suitors. Verlander controlled this, a right he negotiated and earned. Both he and Max Scherzer joined the Mets hoping to bring home a title and left under their own volition to pursue that chance elsewhere.

    As returns go, Gilbert isn’t terrible for the Mets. But trading away Verlander is. I almost don’t care what the money is. They traded a controllable Verlander.

    Houston: A
    Mets: C+

    Stephen J. Nesbitt: It’s been 185 years since the English writer Charles Dickens wrote, in the third chapter of “Nicholas Nickleby,” a line that rings especially true today within the hallways of the executive offices at Minute Maid Park in Houston: “The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.”

    Though he never once experienced the triumphs and turbulence of a major league trading deadline, Dickens knew ball. The pain Astros owner Jim Crane felt watching Verlander, the reigning AL Cy Young, walk into Steve Cohen’s arms this offseason must have been heartrending. So just imagine Crane’s joy as Verlander returns. Sure, Gilbert is a young man with a bright future in baseball, but bringing back Verlander and pocketing the many millions Cohen must have forked over to close the deal was more than enough to satisfy the Astros brass. Verlander appears to have plenty in the tank, and the Astros will be thrilled to have him again starting every fifth day and in the postseason.

    The Mets, meanwhile, are putting Cohen’s money to work for them, buying prospects left and right. The Astros did not have much in the way of prospects to offer, but Gilbert and Clifford ranked first and fourth, respectively, in their system. Gilbert, the 28th overall pick in 2022, played just 11 games last season before injuring his shoulder, but moved up to High A to start the season anyway and destroyed pitching there: slashing .361/.421/.686. His results since climbing to Double A have not nearly been as impressive, with a .713 OPS in 60 games. Clifford, an 11th-rounder in 2022, is a 20-year-old who can play first base or either corner outfield spot. He has a .919 OPS across two levels of A Ball so far this season. Nice prospects. Could both be major league regulars in a few years’ time.

    But when you have in one hand Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and untold millions of dollars, and in the other three prospects, it boggles the mind to choose the option that involves parting with two future Hall of Famers and all of that coin. I get it. But I don’t like that it makes some business sense in baseball.

    Astros: A
    Mets: B-
     
  13. SWTsig

    SWTsig Contributing Member

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    By resigning him he's 100% not re-signing Tucker and maybe even Framber. By trading for him and having the Mets cover a "significant portion" of his salary, he has little excuse not to re-sign either, especially Tucker. And idc how good Gilbert or Clifford might become, it's unlikely they approach anything near Tucker's production.
     
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  14. Htown Stros

    Htown Stros Member

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    They covered $$$ in that deal…
     
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  15. Qan

    Qan Member

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    You wish...I wish. Maldy catching for Valdez, Javier, and Verlander. At least Diaz gets Brown and France. I would really like to see Diaz catch for Valdez and Javier a few times.
     
  16. edwardc

    edwardc Member

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    That was a heavy price.
     
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  17. Houstunna

    Houstunna The Most Unbiased Fan
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    This is where JV shouldn't be loyal

    Maybe a few passed balls will sway him

    And/or, some HRs by his backup
     
    everyday eddie likes this.
  18. Clutch City1993

    Clutch City1993 Bury Me In The H
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    Credit to Dana

    Damn near perfect trade
     
  19. Rockets12

    Rockets12 Member

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    Voted no, but going to depend on how much $ they send. Good to have JV back. Never should have let him go :(
     
  20. the shark

    the shark Member

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    It would be nice if there's major $ coming back, but if there's not, people need to chill out because in my opinion it will be showing that Crane is FINALLY willing to go above the luxury tax.
     

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