Of course it doesn’t matter for future negotiations. I’m only opining on the idea that the Astros have gotten their money’s worth out of him. They haven’t.
MLBTR suggests 2 or 3 yrs but perhaps with an even higher AAV…
Verlander has a legitimate case to break Max Scherzer’s $43.33MM AAV, particularly if he’s looking at a two-year deal. He’s said he wants to pitch into his mid-40s and looks as good as ever, though, so we shouldn’t discount the possibility that a team shrugs and goes to three guaranteed years.
Of the 44 guys on the 40-man roster (including the 4 60-day IL players)…
9 free agents: Verlander, Montero, Mancini, Diaz, Vazquez, Gurriel, Brantley, Castro, Smith
10 DFA candidates*: Goodrum, Dubon, Taylor, James, Jones, Bielak, Blanco, Paredes, Solomon, Bermudez
*I’m not saying all the DFA guys will leave. The likelihood is half of these guys will return. I’m just not sure which half.
Replace a 38 year old Cuban 1B with a 36 year old Cuban 1B?
There is a report out there (ahem…Nightengale) that the CWS will cut ties with Jose Abreu who is a FA. Hit .304/.378/.446 this season. Yes his power dropped off big time which is why the Sox might not re-sign him. Also why contending clubs like the Astros might not be interested unless it’s a very team-friendly one year deal.
Astros have really liked Jose Abreu for a few years, for whatever that’s worth.
I don’t think hitters can be “rescued” the same way pitchers can. I hope they don’t pursue him.
Astros players 28 or younger who are controlled for at least 2 more seasons.
Name (age) - free agent
Framber Valdez (28) - 2026
Lance McCullers Jr (28) - 2027
Jose Urquidy (27) - 2026
Seth Martinez (27) - 2028 or 2029
Brandon Bielak (26) - 2026
Parker Mushinski (26) - 2029
Enoli Paredes (26) - 2027
Luis Garcia (25) - 2027
Cristian Javier (25) - 2026
Bryan Abreu ( 25) - 2027
Hunter Brown (23) - 2029
Alex Bregman (28) - 2025
Chas McCormick (27) - 2027
Mauricio Dubon (27) - 2026
Jake Meyers (26) - 2028
J.J. Matijevic (26) - 2028
David Hensley (26) - 2029
Kyle Tucker (25) - 2026
Yordan Alvarez (25) - 2029
Jeremy Pena (24) - 2028
Korey Lee (23) - 2029
Yanier Diaz (23) - 2029
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I’ll be in section 112 tomorrow. Y’all wave at me. Thank you, Gordon Lakey.
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None of the above will get QO’s this offseason from the Astros (Verlander is ineligible after having received one previously) but just as an FYI the amount this offseason will be $19.65MM. That’s up from $18.4MM last offseason.
Wasn’t sure where else to post this, but it also didn’t seem worthy of a new thread.
TLDR: Luhnow worked out a trade for a two-month rental of Bryce Harper in 2018 that was scuttled by the Nats’ owner. The new info (to me, anyway) is the trade package the two GMs agreed on: Abraham Toro, Josh James, J.B. Bukauskas, Kent Emanuel, and Randy César.
Talk about a quantity over quality offer.
I don’t know: at the time Toro and James had some genuine upside, I think. For a two-month rental, I think that’s a fairly generous offer.
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Oh, I’ll admit it’s a 20/20 hindsight view.
A couple of quotes on the window from yesterday:
BREGMAN: “Well, I don’t like using the term ‘dynasty.’ But we’ve got a lot of guys that are going to be returning. So I think the window (to win more) is still open.”
BAKER: “Hopefully, we’ll continue this run because that’s the thing. When I talk to (general manager) James Click, and especially when I talk to Jim, he expects to win. He doesn’t want to go from first to worst in a two- or three-year period. He wants this feeling, and I like this feeling a lot.
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