Houston Astros Rumors: Why the finalized Verlander trade was a whirlwind

The Houston Astros swung for the fences to get one of the most dominant pitchers since the All-Star break and the team smacked the ball out into the parking lot!

The Houston Astros were rushing to make a deal before 11 p.m. CDT which is the waiver trade deadline.  This moment is critical because any player traded before then can be added to the team’s playoff roster.  In fact, the deal was done just one minute before deadline.

Justin Verlander had been the top of a plethora talks over the past few months between the Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers.  A deal would be close but something would impede it from happening.  But quite honestly, things were the closest that they’ve been ever since things started to get hot with these rumors.

Jon Heyman was the first to report of the deal going down:

He also mentioned the package that the Astros sent over:

All of those prospects — Franklin Perez, Daz Cameron, Jake Rodgers — are in the Houston Astros Top 30 and are a nice return in exchange for Verlander.  It’s certainly good to know that Forrest Whitley and Kyle Tucker weren’t included in the package and that what we offered was enough to whet the Tigers’ appetite.

Jeff Luhnow and Al Avila worked together to get a pact that would be win-win for both sides.  Apparently, they had been working on this all day and I was hoping that things were close.  But ultimately, Verlander himself, decided to waive his no-trade clause — forced or not — to become a member of the Astros.

With Verlander onboard, this ensures the team has one of the top 1-2-3 punches in all of major league baseball when coupled with Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr.

Chris McCosky of the Detroit Times had previously reported that Verlander had either nixed the deal or the Astros got cold feet but I knew in my heart that Luhnow wanted to give it all he had as a team doesn’t have opportunity like this to be successful in the playoffs.  Especially a team like ours that doesn’t spend gobs of money on talent.

Now it’s unclear if the Astros will cover all or part of Verlander’s salary through 2019 but those details are sure to come out.  It’s important because he’ll be expensive at $28 million per season but with as well as he has been pitching, the price is certainly worth it.

Thank goodness — we finally have pitcher than can go regularly longer than six innings!  Since the strikingly effervescent Kate Upton is part of this package, I can’t wait to see her don an Astros jersey.  Mmmmmmm — lord have mercy!

Verlander, 34, has a 5-2 record, 2.41 ERA, 78 strikeouts, 16 walks, 18 earned runs and 0.91 WHIP through 67.1 innings pitched since the All-Star break.

Go Astros.