Houston Astros Report: Jeff Luhnow is making a huge mistake

The Houston Astros have two weeks until the waiver trade deadline and Jeff Luhnow has told us that we’re likely done with acquisitions for the 2017 season.

Yes, general manager Jeff Luhnow was on Josh Innes’ mid-day radio show on SportsTalk 790 and has officially told Houston Astros faithful that we shouldn’t expect any more moves by the deadline.  Well isn’t this disappointing?  If you think this team is going to be okay with the injury/endurance issues with our pitching rotation, you’ve got to be in denial.

But for the most part, Luhnow has been true to his word, mentioning that he’d only make a deal that wouldn’t involve top prospects.  So far, the only casualties were the loss of Nori Aoki, Teoscar Hernandez and a mystery player to be named later to acquire Francisco Liriano and Tyler Clippard respectively.  But these moves aren’t enough and more has to be done to ensure this team has the goods to go the distance.

Christian Boutwell of MLB.com provided the exact quote of what the Houston Astros stance will be before the deadline:

So with this quote, obviously Luhnow either feels that Justin Verlander is not an upgrade or that he doesn’t want to give up any valuable assets to get him.  Here’s the deal.  I think Verlander is a guy that could come step in and make an impact immediately.

Sure he got roughed-up by a homer, a single and two back-to-back homers last night against the Texas Rangers but he still struck out eight batters and threw 114 pitches!  When was the last time an Astros player did that?  You can bet your bottom dollar that Dallas Keuchel was the last guy to do that and a stint on the DL shortly followed!

The key is that our starters can’t go deep into games as of late so we have to rely on our already-taxed bullpen to get the job done.  Verlander provides depth and along with a healthy Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr., that’s a one-two-three starting punch I’d put up with anybody in the league!  Besides, he has been an absolute stud since the All-Star Break — his ERA is just a bit over two, has tossed 52 strikeouts and 12 walks through 46.3 innings.  Those numbers alone are worth pulling the trigger on a deal that makes sense.

There is absolutely no reason why the Detroit Tigers should carry Verlander for the remainder of his contract.  He’s costing them $28 million per year when that money could saved for the inevitable rebuilding project as they’re not going anywhere fast.

That’s why Houston Astros need to pounce on this opportunity to get a player of his stature as he still has strong stuff to throw as he approaches his mid 30s.  The Tigers need to cover some of his salary if a potential deal were made.

And especially if we deal a top prospect, they need to lower their price or send those $28 million checks to 501 Crawford Street!  Doing deals like these are a lot about give and take except that the Tigers want us to give a little more.  I’ll tell you what — Luhnow will make sure that hell freezes over before he makes a bad deal.

With all respect to Luhnow — he has transmogrified this team so quickly — but I think he’s making a huge mistake by allowing this deadline to pass by not adding additional reinforcements like Verlander.  I trust him but I would just hate for this team to have an opportunity to fall short of the prize because we didn’t have the goods to defeat the competition.

Next: Three issues the Astros are facing right now

He knows that, I know that and Astros Nation knows that.  It’s a proverbial game of blackjack and  he thinks he has that perfect hand to stand pat.  Let’s just hope what he has isn’t a bust.

And I’m done.

Go Astros.