Buzz from around the American League…
- There haven’t been any extension talks between Justin Verlander and the Astros front office, the right-hander told reporters, including MLBcom’s Brian McTaggart (Twitter and video link). “I don’t know what their organizational plans are. It’s something I wouldn’t be opposed to….we’ll see what happens,” Verlander said. It isn’t necessarily surprising to see a lack of negotiations between the two sides at this point, since most teams wait until their offseason business is complete and Spring Training begins before turning focus to extending in-house talent. Still, there is some urgency in Verlander’s case, given that 2019 is his last guaranteed year under contract (he agreed to waive a possible vesting option for 2020 as part of his trade to Houston in August 2017). Verlander is coming off one of his finest seasons, a campaign that saw him finish second in AL Cy Young Award voting after leading the league in both K/BB rate (a career-best 7.84) and strikeouts (290, another career high) while posting a 2.52 ERA over 214 innings. There certainly doesn’t appear to be much evidence that Verlander is slowing down, even though he turns 36 in February.
- There also haven’t been any long-term contract talks between Carlos Correa and the Astros, the shortstop tells the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome. Persistent back problems limited Correa to just 468 plate appearances in 2018 and a .239/.323/.405 slash line, easily the worst of his four MLB seasons. “For me, right now is not the time to talk about [an extension],” Correa said. “Obviously coming off the injury last year and the down year. I’m looking forward to bouncing back this year, be the player I am and we go from there.” The first step is an arbitration hearing between Correa and the Astros on January 31, with Correa submitting a $5MM salary figure for 2019 and the team counting with a $4.25MM offer. This is Correa’s first of three years of arbitration eligibility, so there is still plenty of time for the two sides to eventually work out a longer-term deal once Correa feels he’s coming off a better platform year.
- White Sox GM Rick Hahn said he would “be personally disappointed” if the team didn’t sign Manny Machado or Bryce Harper, though he told MLB.com’s Scott Merkin and other reporters that the mere pursuit of such top-tier stars represents a new stage of the team’s rebuild. “The fact that we are now sitting here in a potential position — or at least in a position where, if we don’t convert, people are going to be disappointed — I think is an important step forward for this organization,” Hahn said.
- The Orioles aren’t likely to sign any free agents to multi-year contracts this winter, GM Mike Elias told Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com and other media, and the team could avoid any Major League contracts whatsoever for free agents. With the O’s in the early stages of a rebuild, the team wasn’t much of a candidate to be making any long-term commitments, as the focus will instead be on giving time to young players. That said, Elias didn’t close the door on any possibilities for his club, noting “we’re looking for ways to be opportunistic and true with the players that are left unsigned right now.”
- Rays right-hander Wilmer Font has recently started to throw fastball-only bullpen sessions and expects to be ready for Spring Training, he tells MLB.com’s Juan Toribio. Font suffered a lat strain in late June that wound up being a season-ending injury, rather than an eight-week DL stint as originally projected. The injury brought an abrupt end to a very promising start for Font as a Ray, since the righty had a 1.67 ERA over his first 27 innings for Tampa after the club acquired him from Oakland in May. A healthy Font would give the Rays yet another intriguing pitching weapon, able of a traditional bullpen role or perhaps again working as an “opener.”
As a Dodgers fan I miss Font; great kid, great arm and willing to learn his craft…
As a Rays fan I like reading your insight.
Font was light out when in there against the AL East best bats! I’m glad he’s recovering since he is a starter and reliever you can rely on. Although L Alvarado might be ready to Close. I wouldn’t mind if the FO picked up Holland or even Serigo Romo on the cheap. (Romo is a character we could use in the BP) as a backup.
For a Dodger fan, be for expect Verlander to sign for a discount in LA. Finish a legacy in Tinsel Town.
So hear me out. If Brady win, Machado signs. If Brady loses Harper will sign. The signings will be a week after the superbowl. The Machado signing would be big but not enough to overshadow another Brady superbowl, but if Harper signs it would definately overshadow his loss especially with the chamce of him being getting so much. Machado to the Angel, Harper to the Yankees.
And Rick Hahn will be personally disappointed…..please
I do too.
I’m interested to see what Verlander’s next contract looks like. There isn’t really a close, recent comp to him. He’s at an advanced age, but still clearly dominant, and one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. Any guesses on his next contract?
2yrs 60m?
With an option or 2
Yeah, not much to compare him to. I’ll take you up on a guess:
3-4 years, $18-23m aav
I’m thinking he asks for 3yr100m, but it’s gotta be hard for a team to give him 3 guaranteed years at such a high aav, no matter how great he’s been. At two years, though, a lot of teams–Braves, Dodgers, Yankees, Cards–would likely view him as a finishing touch on a roster built for October.
2 for 50 with a vesting option on a third at 20
This one makes a lot of sense
2 years for 60 million sounds about right.
Depends on how he does this year, but 2/60 seems steep. I’d guess something more in the 2/48 range.
You’re right. If he dominates again, he’s looking at a big payday. If he stumbles, or starts showing the inevitable signs of aging he may get much, much less. Never know how this season will go.
Maybe a Rich Hill type contract 3/48? That would be about 16 million for a 36 year old pitcher.
Lmfao! Rich Hill is a terrible comp to Verlander.
The comment was talking about the 3/48 contract not comparing the players themselves. No need to be so condescending in your comments. Especially when you clearly missed the intent of the comment.
They might be the same age, but Verlander’s pitching results are way different that Hill’s pitching results.
And this is obviously turning into a different market than when Hill signed
Although I do see Verlander getting more than that but no way $30 mill a year for 2 yrs
I didn’t say they were the same pitcher numbers wise. From a contract point 3/48 makes way more sense than the 2/60 or 2/48 that was suggested earlier. If he puts up another stellar year then he’a in line to get a lot more. 3/48 seems like a solid floor in my opinion.
Rich Hill had one good year after a career of injuries and subpar results before he signed that deal. He’s also a twice through the batting order, 5 innings a game pitcher. Verlander is a future hall of famer. Your comp is terrible.
3/48 is his floor for a contract, he’ll probably get more. I know he’s not the same pitcher as Rich Hill. But he’s not going to sign a 5/100 contract at 36. You need to be somewhat realistic.
I guessed 2yr 60m.
I don’t understand your demeaning and rude comment when you clearly missed the point to his comment. It was only about a 3/48 contract not a player comparison. It just referenced Rich Hill merely as a name to a contract amount.
Thank you mvlastowski, this comment needed a middle-school hall monitor to make sure no one’s feelings got hurt. Twerp.
2 yrs, $54M, with an option that vests based on durability, but the value is based on performance, so it could be from $15M to $27M.
3 years/$80 million? Maybe the 3rd year is some kind of option year
3/70 with incentives?
He’s like a new Roger Clemens.
Minus the whole sitting out the first half of the season thing. And the steroids thing, bat throwing, throwing 100 at 36….so just the age thing, and being good?
Maybe a new Nolan…
Exactly my same thoughts 2 years and if pitches 200 innings each year the 3rd year is vested. Easily 26-30 a year i think.
Bluejays become beyond dominant in 2019 and verlander is traded then resigned for 700mil per game and we all dance in toronto like a bunch of irishmen
2/$50m or $3/65m??
He’s the modern day Nolan Ryan(only Verlander is probably BETTER).
Blasphemy!
Nolan Ryan won 300 games…and almost lost 300 games. I’d take Verlander.
And your opinion is based off of w/l?
JV is a beast, maybe the best pitcher of the generation, but Ryan pitched like an all-star through his age 44 season. I hope JV can have that kind of longetivity, but he’s not on Nolan’s level quite yet.
Not ENTIRELY based on W-L, but I still think that stat tells you who the best pitchers are over time. Any pitcher can be lucky with wins/losses in a given season. But over time the variables even out and the best pitchers get the most wins.
Verlander has won a Cy Young award and has finished in the top 5 SIX other times.
Ryan finished in the top 5 Sox times total and played much longer.
112 ERA+ career for Ryan. Verlander is at 126.
I know the amazing thing about Ryan was the longevity and durability. Verlander is like that, too. I don’t think he’s ever had an arm injury? He’s a glitch. Let’s see if he can pitch effectively into his 40’s, but he’s not slowing down at all yet.
He will stay in HOU for less years but very high AAV (Average Annual Value). I am guessing something like 3yrs/$75M or something similar. After albatross contacts like Cabrera and Puljous, you will see alot more of these type contacts rather than 6-10 yrs long. In my opinion, that’s why you still got Harper and Machado still out there b/c nobody is wanting to go 8-10 years long. But they will definitely have to pump up that yearly $$$ as a kind of penalty for not giving those extra years
I believe there is absolute collusion with the owners all of them are in on it, and it’s ugly. Someone please tell me why the T Rangers with a new stadium opening has not one elite player to market their product or a player for 2019! why are they not in on Harper or, Machado?As for Verlander the new thinking is something like 2/40mill with another 20 mill incentives for innings and starts..
I think you’re seeing the direct result of the success in tanking for the future. The Cubs and Astros come to mind. Everyone wants to draft the next Harper or Machado not be the one to pay them
@matt It’s not collusion. It’s owners and GM’s finally realizing that giving long-term deals is bad business. Teams are happy to PAY players, they just aren’t giving 7-10 years anymore. So Harper might have to take $35m/year over a shorter term? That kind of a salary hardly sound like collusion, does it? Nobody wants the next Pujols deal. Those days are over.
I don’t think anyone is going to give Verlander more than 2 or 3 years, and he’s got to kind of expect that, at his age. A high AAV on a two year contract makes a lot of sense for a lot of teams, though. I see him as a finishing touch on a roster built for October for playoff-bound teams like the Dodgers, Yankees, Cardinals, etc. He’s married to a super model and likes to drive Lambos and Ferraris, so I don’t see him taking a discount.
Verlander to the Yankees makes a TON of sense after this season. I’m sure he and Kate would welcome the Glitz of NYC, too(she’s probably there a ton for work anyway). Meanwhile, the Yankees would be happy with a 2-3 year deal, for sure. It sounds like a no brainer.
Red Sox also fit. They will probably lose Sale and Porcello and would love Verlander on a short-term deal.
It will be major fail If the White Sox lose out on Machado to a smaller market team. They have more roster flexibility than any other team in the league (who would actually spend). No excuses Hahn, or it’s the same ole bs as in the past. Get your guy!
The question is
Does someone really want to play on the south side of Chicago?
I wouldn’t personality, but there are locations I wouldn’t ever live no matter how much I’m being paid
Chicago is a nice place to play, no matter where, in my opinion, but it’s gotta be hard for a player that wants to win to envision being instantly competitive with the White Sox. They have nice prospects, sure, but the ML roster, aside from Abreu and maybe Moncada, looks to be in rough, rough shape.
Moncada is currently part of that “in rough, rough shape” crew, he has done nothing of substance to prove otherwise.
Moncada has only played one full season in the majors and is young. Plenty of time to turn things around.
Keep in mind the Sox have been tanking for high draft picks the last few seasons. Rough years are required when you’re trying to restock a farm system with talent and depth. Realistically, the White Sox could put their proverbial foot to the gas and start winning anytime they wanted it to. Signing a guy like Machado and/or Harper gives the solid core piece they’re looking for to do just that.
Realistically, they could start winning whenever they wanted to? How? It would certainly take A LOT MORE than just signing Manny.
Don’t crap on ChiSoxCity while he’s playing PlayStation…
Agreed. Orioles had Machado before letting him go…they weren’t contending for anything other than being the b**** of the AL.
It’s not hard for a team to go from last place to contender, once you find talent to build around. Realistically, this could be the last rebuilding year for the White Sox if they sign Machado or Harper. Most of their top prospects will be in the bigs by 2020.
Top prospects don’t always perform. Moncada, for all of his fanfare, was pretty average. The Astros top prospect, Tucker, couldn’t bat above .200. The Nats top guy, Robles, was hurt most of the year. How are all of the graduated Padres prospects doing? Terrible. For every Acuna, there are 4 or 5 guys that can’t ever make the transition. Having all of your prospects arrive in 2020, certainly doesn’t guarantee success.
Moncada led the league in K’s last year, but only hit 17HR’s. He’s looked completely overmatched in the Majors, so far. Still young, but his ceiling has come way down.
Dombrowski did well to sell high on him.
And he was STILL a league average player with 2.0 fWAR (and bWAR). That’s a pretty impressive floor for somebody “completely overmatched.” His ceiling hasn’t come down at all.
Also, I thought strikeouts didn’t matter anymore?
lowtalker1 have you ever actually been to the south side of Chicago? Or are you just going off of the media representation.
Chicago is like any other large city in that there are pockets of high crime areas. They also exist on the north and west sides as well. The problem is that the city administration is so incompetent and that the police locked up all the big gang leaders about a decade ago, leading to basically a free-for-all in some places. Overall though it’s a great city for the great majority of its residents.
I’ve never been but I hear the Bronx has it’s problems. Every city on the west coast seems to have major problems with homeless and drug addicts. Baltimore isn’t much of a gem. Philly, DC and Miami certainly have areas you wouldn’t be comfortable going to at night.
Hahn is already patting himself on the back for his participation trophy. So I think you are going to be disappointed. It is pretty clear Machado doesn’t want to play on the Southside of Chicago. I’d be surprised if either of these guys has a team before spring training camps open.
Hahn just needs to stop talking. The more he makes comments like that the more pathetic he sounds. If they sign a big boy great. If they don’t though – saying things like “we deserve a seat at the big table” and “we deserve nice things too” is going to make it seem like a major fail.
Why don’t you guys just worry about your own team.
Or does that only apply when a Sox fan says something about the Cubs?
Sounds like Priggs89 was bullied in middle school.
Sounds like you either can’t pick up on a joke or haven’t been in any Cubs threads recently to understand context. Oh well. Maybe next time slugger.
Again with the crime stuff? Chicago isn’t even in the top 30 ranking of murder rate per capita among cities in the U.S. St. Louis (3rd) and Detroit (9th) are, however. If you people traveled more, instead of living vicariously through CNN or Fox, you would realize that Chicago is a one of the greatest cities in the world. Obviously, if you are poor and uneducated, it’s not the place to be. No city in America is.
As far as Machado not wanting to play in Chicago, please, enlighten me on how you came to this conclusion. From my perspective, Machado’s agent is waiting for higher bids before committing to any deals. He’s clearly in no hurry to sign with anybody until the money’s right, so enough with the projecting all your little insecurities about things you don’t know (and are afraid of) onto these players. It sounds ridiculous.
Coo coo for cocoa puffs folks.
Coming from the likes of you, that’s a compliment.
He’s not going to the ChiSox or I’ll eat my boxers! They’re lowballing him! He’s gonna want 30+ a year… and the Yankees or another big market team will post it up to get another future HOF candidate and franchise player. Not happening @ChiSoxCity
So, by that logic they don’t want to play anywhere?
White Sox continue to low ball. Typical jerry reinsdorf ran organization. He already has me disconnected from the Chicago bulls, I’m hanging on to some of these prospects hitting and the white Sox being relevant in there own division, which is the worst division in baseball. God damn it JERRY
Late career Manny Ramirez contract .
If the Orioles were smart, they’d get relievers and other pieces they could flip at the deadline like the White Sox have done the past couple years.
Who’d the Chisox flip? Jennings and Swarzak? They didn’t get anyone back for them who’s big league caliber.
Joakim Soria nabbed them Kodi Medeiros, who’s probably the #20ish prospect in the system.
Also, Tommy Kahnle wasn’t really a flip per se, but he was secretly the centerpiece of the trade for Blake Rutherford (way more surplus value than Frazier/Robertson despite less name recognition).
Those two were decent but not great. What type of “big league caliber” players did you expect to get in return?
Too many fans lack the patience or vision to understand how valuable elite young prospects are to a team. Having a guy like Ronald Acuna under team control for five or six years on a rookie contract gives you shorter path to the WS than a team built on expensive FAs sapping your resources.
If Correa continues to have back problems what will the Astros do ? He’s too young to be having chronic back problems so 2019 will possibly tell a lot about his future
He’s had it for one season there is no indication he’s injury prone.
Verlander extension is a tough prediction. He’s putting out ace production but he’s 35. How long do you extend that? At that age you are just waiting for the wheels to fall off the bus but yet here he is putting out quality years.
He’ll be 37 in the first year of a new deal. If he’s Cy Young-caliber again this year, though, with his track record, he will get paid.
Something like the way Clemens did. A bunch of 1 year high $$ contracts
“The Orioles aren’t likely to sign any free agents to multi-year contracts this winter…. and the team could avoid any Major League contracts whatsoever for free agents.”
Wow, let that sink in. The worst team in baseball last year may not sign a SINGLE FA to improve their ballclub for 2019. I’m all for a free market but at some point these teams need to penalized just like the teams that go over the luxery tax. If you can’t win 60 games you lose your highest (1st rd) draft pick or something like that. Or you lose half of the MLB TV $$$’s given to each team because your team didn’t add any value to the TV product.
Everybody is following the Cubs/Astros tank it til you make it rebuild model.
“:Everybody is following the Cubs/Astros tank it til you make it rebuild model.”
Which worked when only the Astros and Cubs were tanking. 15 teams can’t all draft Kris Bryant and Jose Altuve, I think there are going to be some very disappointed fans of half the league when their tanking seasons enter years 6-10.
You could put together a playoff contender with the remaining available FA’s, They way the market is going they might all sign 1 year contracts as well.
I completely agree. When only a handful of teams were tanking and the rest of the league were trying to win, it was easier to stockpile prospects. Now it’s the exact opposite. There are only a handful of teams trying to win, and prospects are like gold.
Altuve was not drafted by the Astros
Altuve was signed by the Astros as an amateur free agent in 2007.
Astros had Altuve it was Correa, McCullers and Bregman that they got.
McCullers was a supplemental pick, so he shouldn’t even be in that group.
Hard to make moves when the management/coaching is getting a top to bottom overhaul
You misread…. he didn’t say they wouldn’t sign a MLB FA, they wouldn’t sign one to a long term commitment… there is a difference. Think Nelson Cruz.
It’s bargain hunting time Orioles!
No chance Correa’s wife lets him stay in Houston. She’ll send it to New York, Chicago, or LA.
Correa’s an it?
Lol. That was an interesting autocorrect….
Can someone make a compelling argument why “it’s obvious he doesn’t want to play on the South Side”? He hasn’t accepted their offer because he wants more money. The guy doesn’t care where he plays, he just wants to be paid.
I swear, all these homebodies who think Chicago is a craphole have never been to NY, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore, Los Angeles, St. Louis or Houston. They all have really bad parts and really great places to live.
I’m beginning to wonder if Machado will take a one year deal and re-enter free agency next year.
Next year’s class is way more stacked, so I don’t see that as a logical option for him. If anything, I could see him taking a 3 year deal that’d expire right before the new CBA, and he’d be able to hit free agency again before he turns 30. But even then, a big contract with opt-outs makes a lot more sense right now as it gives him much more security.
Machado and Harper have no choice but to seek max dollars on as longterm a contract as possible. Reason being, their youth gives them a lot of leverage. Jumping back into the market after only a 3 or 5 year deal, and that leverage will be lost. Their market value will never be higher than it is now right now. Their performance will decline as they get older. Also, contracts are getting smaller and shorter, as we’ve seen the last few offseasons. That should be a warning sign to all FAs and their agents seeking longterm contracts.
What changes next year? It would be the same.
Hahaha, shocker. Hahn already back tracking. He knows as well as anybody that Manny and/or Harper weren’t going to sign there. Why would they? Hahn was just creating fake buzz to desperately spin the fans so they buy tickets. A shady move, just a smoke screen to try and make the team appear to be relevant.
In reality, I think fans and owners alike see what an albatross a 8 year contract-say Jason Heyward-can be in prohibiting future FA signings. Look at the Cubs. All the money in the world(they print their own) and they should be in the thick of things for Harper/Machado but they can’t becaise of bad money tied up in Heyward. It’s a buyer beware market now
Heyward was a bad contract, but at least he brings value. I doubt they win in 2016 without him. BTW, his contact is half of what Manny or Bryce should get. The Cubs payroll will easily be in the top 5, looking more like top 3. Anyway, that has nothing to do with the Sox. But, since you brought it up….. here are some actual FACTS – 4 straight playoff appearances (and counting) including 3 straight NLCS, a ring already in the bank, with a young PROVEN championship core (not “prospects) but young MLB talent that hasn’t even hit their peak years yet. Soooo, the trades, the draft picks, the free agents signings…. Theo has been nails. Again, the facts matter, the proof is in the results.
Meanwhile, the Sox are FINALLY attempting a rebuild, BUT many have tried what the Cubs/Astros have achieved, but very few have actually pulled it off. Remember, this is the same inept and clueless FO for the Sox that said they were “ALL IN” a few years back, only to end up with a worse record than teams ACTIVELY tanking. FFW to now, Moncada already getting compared to Buxton by writers calling him a bust, Giolito, Rodon, Fulmer, Lopez…. bust, bust, bust, bust. Kopech’s arm fell off and won’t even pick up a baseball til 2020. Soooo, why would Harper or Machado trust this front office? Promise to contend in a couple of years?!? Really? No one is buying that. Proof that it takes more than a subscription to Baseball Prospectus to build a winner.
So, I can take a bad contract from Theo, no worries. The overall picture couldn’t be brighter, he did EXACTLY what he said he would do… and then some. Just like he did in Boston. BTW, many of the young studs that just won the WS in Boston… yep, Theo guys. What’s Hahn’s resume again? Hahaha, if the media and the fans know that the Sox are an irrelevant joke, why would you think that players and their reps would be oblivious to that?
My god are you vapid. Based on your definition of “bust” Almora, Schwarber, Happ, Russell and Baez are all “busts” since their first several years were subpar. I will say I am envious that you were happy with the cubs last season. It must be nice to be so shortsighted. I think most real cubs fans were disgusted and want to see them get better during the off season and wont drink the “young core” koolaid.
Bryzzo is always so butt hurt when anyone states an obvious fact about his precious cubbies. We are talking contracts, heywards has next to no value at $20MM a year. If you think the cubs won because of his speech or defense I feel bad for you for failing to recognize he’s garbage. Darvish and almost all of theos FA signings have cost the cubs big time into being able to go spend money on there actual needs, the bullpen a starter and a leadoff hitter.
You really are obsessed with the White Sox, aren’t you? You have that same ridiculous comment locked and loaded for just about every White Sox post. And please, spare me the “Cubs fans don’t care about the White Sox” line. Everyone can see right through it when you CONSTANTLY ramble on in every White Sox thread.
Im struggling to follow the logic coming from what seems to be Cubs fans. “Manny is a horrible teammate that gave up in the playoffs and only cares about himself” meaning he doesn’t care about winning. Then there’s “he doesn’t want to sign with the Sox because they suck and are irrelevant”. Which one is it? If he’s such a horrible person do you really think he cares where he signs? Heres the truth, manny will sign with whoever pays him the most. Clearly the Sox didn’t come close to his asking price which is why he hasn’t signed with them. This nonsense about the Sox being irrelevant is low having fruit. Of course they are irrelevant, they suck right now. They obviously have a plan in place they any intelligent baseball fan can see.
hey, we all know that JV is going to come back home in 2020 and finish his career as a Tiger..
right, JV?
(please……?)
Haha! I wish. He’s said he wants to pitch until he can’t pitch anymore, though, so maybe he’s the closer on the 2024 team when our Tigers are relevant again.
The O’s are a hot mess. The MINIMUM they can do, since Elias seems to be unable to make any quick decisions, is to buy Davis (24M) and Cobb (20M) out of their deferrals. I’m sure using the “Wimpy Economic System” (“a hamburger today is worth more than the promise of a hamburger tomorow”) they can shorten the price a bit. That would at least free them from any obligations past 2022. That would be a start. Otherwise, they’ll still be paying Davis through 2037…..yes, 2037. And Cobb through 2032.
They can even tack the cost onto their 2019 payroll, since right now it only sits at 92M, including the 40-man and fringe. And it’s likely that if Cashner or Trumbo show a pulse, they can be moved on July 31. They seem to be able to float a payroll somewhere in the 120-130m range, based on available financials, so they can clear out some of their books.
Beyond that, the whole year should be a giant try-out camp. The stat geeks claim a team of replacement level players would win 56 games; what did the O’s win, 44? That means EVERY DFA, waiver wire guy, minor league free agent, should make a stop in Baltimore before going anywhere else.
Thing is, Bulls fans have heard that refrain from Reinsdorf’s other team for far too long. “Yeah we were players in the market and we went after some great names but…” But nothing. The Sox have enough space under the cap to get Machado AND Harper and I’d think Keuchel as well.
Harper and Machado will likely go to the highest bidder, so if you’re not getting them, you’re not the highest bidder, so no, there are no points for second place, no good feelings about the Sox entering a new phase of the rebuild, etc. Hahn can get two elite players and the only thing that will stop him is Reinsdorf not wanting to spend what it takes to get them and no, that wouldn’t leave me feeling good about much of anything with this team. Get it done. It’s not easy, but you’re either in or you’re not.
Verlander… now there’s a guy that I think every team wishes was part of their organization. A few tough years in Detroit with them rebuilding and him reinventing himself a bit, but other then that he’s one of the best pitchers of our generation and hopefully a first ballot Hall of Famer. At 35, he already has 204 wins, a career 3.39 ERA, 2700 strikeouts (he will almost surely hit 3k in 2020 if not 2019). He’s already compiled 64 WAR, ROY, Cy Young, MVP, a couple Cy Young runner ups…
I wonder what it would cost the Astros to give him a 3 year extension and if he’d take it? I wouldn’t want to go longer then that, given their window and his age. Wouldn’t make sense.
Bryzzo2016 your a maniac You need some friends