If healthy, yes.... but this is the same rotation that at one point was relying on Mike Fiers to pitch a ton of major innings for them. Keuchel, McCullers, McHugh, and Morton's health are all still questionable. Peacock should/could be a full-time starter, but may be relegated to the bullpen based on the depth they have. Verlander is an iron man... but at some point, his arm won't respond like it once did... till then, you ride it out and squeeze as much life out of it as you can.
I would have to think more Verlander like given the fact that there were so many reputable sources confirming the reports of the deal being imminent. Could be wrong though. Just never seemed to be enough legitimately respectable sources confirming that Melo to Houston was close.
Right, the rotation has health questions and I understand that but so do most MLB rotations... we are very fortunate in that we have a wealth of really good/solid starters... arguably the strongest rotation in the league... do you always want more? Sure, but the real need seems to be the bullpen which was just a disaster in the play-offs.
They probably make some sort of effort to reach them but if they can't in a reasonable amount of time they move on... probably isn't much of an issue trying to reach guys in 2017 though.
But the bullpen was one of the stronger aspects of the team for the marathon regular season. And the depth in the starting pitching ended up being very valuable as eventual bullpen weapons in the playoffs. I think they're going about it perfectly. You need bonafide 200 IP starters to survive the regular season.... unless you want to tax/tire your bullpen (which showed some signs of that, in regards to Devenski and Harris). You also need versatility in the playoffs, where those AB's are slightly different than regular season AB's... and you can't simply use SOP bullpen roles.
You do remember that we signed Hector Rondon and Joe Smith as well, right?? The bullpen was a disaster, but adding two playoff tested relievers will be a huge addition to an already-decent bullpen. Playoffs, as we saw, aren't the end-all-be-all for bullpens. If you've got good starting depth, that can come in handy in a high leverage playoff situation. Traditional pitching roles mean absolutely nothing in the playoffs.
Regular season: Rotation: Verlander, Keuchel, Cole, McCullers, Morton Bullpen: Peacock, Musgrove, Sipp, Harris, Devenski, Rondon, Smith, Giles Playoffs: Rotation: Verlander, Keuchel, Cole Bullpen: McCullers, Morton, Peacock, Devenski
this is just to funny-- It doesn't matter if reputable sources called this a done deal (Houston) still gets to worry if it will be done or not (yankees might now swoop in)
This all makes me miss the old days of having to wait until the 10 pm news to find out about scores, trades, etc.
Believe it or not.... even with all the social media and possible breaking news outlets... its still very much the same process. Usually only one person actually gets it right... and that's only when its actually been released by the team. Its hilarious to see actual news outlets read tweets and report it as their own facts.
Its a matter of degree. How many other teams had 4 starters on the DL at the same time? Can you imagine if that had happened in Sept/Oct instead of over the summer?
Can't imagine Luhnow is looking to give up top prospects at this moment. They still have to deal with Marwin correct? I thought Fisher was the likely candidate to slide into LF if MG moves on...idk, seems a little weird but loading up on pitching I guess not a bad strategy.
