Totally disagree that the "Astros sold Detroit prospects for 16M"--I don't think "Verlander for free" was on the table. In the case of a claim, Detroit still would have negotiated a trade--likely a very similar outcome, because they always had the alternative of taking Verlander to the winter meetings if we didn't make a reasonable offer. The Astros backed themselves into a corner how exactly? By not trading for...Quintana? I really don't understand this corner you keep talking about.
Agreed. He's crazy. Criticizing the Astros for not making a move that wasn't there to make. Verlander was never free -- he was always going to cost prospects, which was the key to the holdup in addition to his salary. GREAT trade by the Astros. The only prospect of significance is Perez and I prefer our other two SPs to him.
Either that or a low level guy. With the lateness of the trade, Detroit may have just given Astros a list of low level guys that they are willing to move and Astros just didn't know enough about the guys to pick one. If it is a low level guy, Astros will scout Detroit instructs a lot.
I think Lance will really benefit from having a guy like JV on team. Lance has power stuff and is a big time competitor, just like JV. I think JV can help him harness his powers for good
If Astros would have taken Verlander for nothing, they should have claimed him to limit Detroit to only being able to trade him to the Astros. By not claiming him, Astros had to compete with others for Verlander at August deadline. Pretty sure Astros get a lot better deal (or no deal) if they are only ones that Detroit can trade with and Verlander's run of success was much smaller then. SPs available prior to the July deadline were more than just Quintana. Frankly, it is probably more about innings than a starter. A couple of relievers at the deadline may have worked as well for Astros. Lots of guys available versus just one. Astros gambled that they wouldn't need a starter/innings a month ago. Heck, a month ago, Astros didn't know Verlander would have 6 great starts in August and look like a viable good playoff starter again. Verlander has looked more like his 2016 self lately. Astros felt they needed a starter. Astros feeling they needed a starter or a starter's worth of playoff innings is a corner as not making a deal is not a good option (i.e. Astros couldn't walk away from deal). Detroit is only team that had one. Astros paid a high price for the 2017 playoff run. There is no way Detroit gets a team to pay for a 2017 playoff run in winter of 2017/2018.
How? and what player are we going to lose in the mean time. We have money to spend and haven't been for a long time. The money is not going to be a problem three years from now.
The Astros current rotation is not good enough to hold off the Indians/Red Sox in AL race, let alone win a short series, IMO. Not when Brad Peacock and Colin McHugh are your two best pitchers. I'm not putting stock in all the veteran leadership, rah-rah bullshit - but........ I do think we've acquired a very competent, very hungry pitcher who's a borderline Hall of Famer. If, like so many great pitchers before him, he can flip a switch (or maintain currently flipped switch), he's probably the difference between 1 and 2-3 seed. And I trust him starting a playoff game 1000 times more than I would Peacock. Or Morton.
Astros made this deal with 2018 and 2019 in mind as well. Literally the only players of significance not signed through 2019 are Keuchel, Marwin, Gattis, and Gregerson. We can't take 2018-2019 for granted, but there's a pretty good chance we'll have Verlander at our disposal for the playoffs in those years too. Detroit clearly wasn't taking a low ball offer. Even if the Astros forced the issue by claiming, Detroit wasn't going to trade him for the sake of trading him this year.
I personally am not concerned with seeding if our team starts clicking as it did earlier in the year. Chemistry was big and I think the addition of Correa along with the front office moves that this team will regain its composure. I do not think JD Davis nor Fisher right now should be playing too much for the Astros.
Agree to everything, except Peacock is obviously due for a '04 Backe-esque performance. I'm cool with our prospects getting innings. We have a healthy lead, healthy enough to let prospects play. Plus, some players could use the rest. Fact is, all prospects will struggle. That's how MLB players are made. But we can afford their ABs right now. Obviously playing well into Sept/Oct matters. I'm not wholly excusing our play. We've struggled. But there is some value in just letting the younger fellas get some reps.
If they maintain their hold on the #1 seed in the AL, then that implies they had a good month of baseball. The confidence gained from that good month of baseball is what will vault this team to the World Series. Oh yeah, and handing the ball to a proven veteran with championship pedigree ain't so bad either.
That's assuming they could have made a deal so quickly given they would have only had 2 days to make a deal
According to the Chronicle....it occurred at the "1o:59 p.m. deadline" (pasted from Chron article)...Martian time. 1oo1oo1oo SOS
