Houston Astros: Why the team shouldn’t trade for Justin Verlander
The Houston Astros continue to inch closer to the trade deadline and there’s one arm that the franchise should not even try to make a move for.
The Houston Astros rumors have been all over the map in regard to who they’re pursuing. We’ve heard them connected to names such as Sonny Gray, Yu Darvish, Justin Wilson, Julio Teheran, Zach Britton and Jacob deGrom among many others.
But Justin Verlander is one name that has been a constant in trade rumors as the Detroit Tigers are definitely sellers, being nine games under .500 and nowhere close in terms of playoff contention. They’ve already unloaded J.D. Martinez to the Arizona Diamondbacks and I have no doubt that there will be more players involved if the right deal is found.
Verlander, still considering one of the league’s top arms, is on the market for that exact reason. But I’m sure that the Tigers want a large haul for him which certainly would complicate things for the Houston Astros brass.
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reported yesterday that the Houston Astros want to make a deal but are unwilling to unload their top prospects, which is quite understandable:
#Astros GM Jeff Luhnow reluctant to trade any top prospects, say rival execs. He might have to bend to push bigger deal across finish line.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 28, 2017
And Jerry is absolutely correct, in order to get the guys we need, there’s going to have to be some pain inflicted in order to improve this team. We need an additional arm, whether it be in the bullpen or a front-line guy to help shore up the rotation that currently is showing some signs of wear and tear.
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But let me tell you, Verlander isn’t that guy. Aside from the fact that his health continues to be a concern, he hasn’t had such great stuff this season. He’s ERA is hovering in the mid 4’s and has already given up 62 earned runs, which is far past his usual pace in a typical season. His FIP and WHIP are even worse to which I’ll get to later.
For that type of production, the cost of giving up top prospects for him isn’t worth it. He’s still on the back-end of a 10-year, $219.5 million deal that goes through 2019, this deal had included one extension that was signed back in 2013. He’s making on average of $27 million per season which is definitely not the payroll the team would wish to take on at this time.
Just think how many other players that you could obtain for that kind of money instead of just one? So no, absolutely not, Verlander should be out of the question and the Houston Astros should look elsewhere to beef up their depth on the pitching side. Let’s just hope that they do or we’ll just have to let the deadline pass without making a move. I’m okay with that but I’d frankly be disappointed. So here’s goes nothing.
Next: Astros need to monitor Chris Devenski's innings of work
Verlander, 34, has posted a 4.50 ERA, tossing 120 strikeouts, allowing 62 earned runs, with a 4.21 FIP and 1.44 WHIP through 124.0 innings pitched in 21 starts on the season.
Go Astros.