EVERY-THING SPORTS
Here's why the Astros should think long and hard about trading for Justin Verlander
Jul 26, 2023, 4:11 pm
The Astros need pitching, and Verlander may become available. Composite Getty Image.
verlander mets astros
Sports fans are a nostalgic bunch. Take a look through social media posts. The debates are endless about what teams, players, eras, or what have you are the best or are better than others. The eventual “Mount Rushmore” posts will appear asking for the four best in any given category. You'll also see tons of posts and comments about what players they want to bring back to their franchises. Whenever players leave, via trade or free agency, and there's a chance for them to come back, fans will clamor for a reunion.
After last season's World Series win, people thought Jim Crane had to keep the entire band together. General Manager James Click was not retained, and ace of the pitching staff Justin Verlander signed with the Mets. Click was eventually replaced by Dana Brown. Verlander was replaced by other guys who were on the come up. Framber Valdez has stepped up as the new ace. Luis Garcia is out for the season. Jose Urquidy is trying to come back from injury. J.P. France has been a revelation. But have any of these guys truly replaced Verlander?
Simple answer: no. You don't “replace” a Verlander. You can only hope to fill his shoes enough that you don't trip over yourself walking in them. While the Astros have done an admirable job, his spot in the rotation has been missed. Injuries have compounded his absence. Garcia and Urquidy both went down early. While Hunter Brown and France have stepped up, they aren't the sure thing taking the bump every five or six days. Verlander is a future Hall of Famer, who at 40 years old, is still on top of his game.
So is a reunion even possible? I'd say yes. The Mets are currently almost 20 games back in their division race and almost 10 back in the Wildcard race. While they've held on as long as they could, the smoke signals have been sent about them being sellers at the deadline. The Astros are fighting to take over their division and are in control of a Wildcard spot. The price tag for Verlander may not be as bad as one would think. The Mets would have to agree to pay some of his remaining salary, but the Astros wouldn't necessarily have to give up too many high level pieces. The more the Mets want to get rid of most of his salary, the less they may ask for in return.
This reunion makes sense for both sides. The Astros need another arm to help secure their fifth World Series appearance in seven years. Verlander wants the best chance to win and continue to cement his legacy, while chasing some career milestones. Crane wanted Verlander back after last season, but the price tag was too much for him. Could a lower salary and a moderate trade package make a reunion more likely for Crane? I think so. It's a matter of what it'll cost. He has Brown manning the ship now. Brown is the kind of guy that'll make the smart move (like re-signing young guys early to team friendly deals), but he was Crane's pick as Click's replacement because he will make the splash deal like Crane wants. Could this be his first splash deal? Or will Verlander have to rot in the Big Apple, knowing he picked the wrong team?
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Welcome to Chaos Week in the NBA. For some, anyway.
Going into Tuesday, there are 55 games left in the season — and 19 of the 20 postseason seeds still to be decided. Oklahoma City will be No. 1 in the Western Conference. Everything else is still at least somewhat up for grabs.
To give an idea, here's a breakdown of who can finish where when the regular season ends Sunday:
—East No. 1 and East No. 2: Cleveland (likely the No. 1) or Boston. The Cavs are four games up with four to play.
—East No. 3: New York has a three-game lead on Indiana.
—East No. 4: Indiana has a three-game lead on Milwaukee. The Bucks could get to No. 4, and New York could fall to 4.
—East No. 5: Milwaukee has a 1 1/2 game lead on Detroit. Indiana could fall to No. 5, and Detroit could get to 5.
—East No. 6: Detroit can’t fall past this spot. Milwaukee finishes 6th if the Pistons catch the Bucks.
—East No. 7: Orlando, Atlanta and Chicago could all finish here.
—East Nos. 8-9-10: Orlando, Atlanta, Chicago and Miami could all finish here.
—East Eliminated: Toronto, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Washington.
—West No. 1: It’s Oklahoma City.
—West No. 2: The Rockets will probably finish here. The Los Angeles Lakers can catch them, but it’s a long shot.
—West Nos. 3-4-5-6-7-8: Here’s true wackiness. Houston can’t fall past No. 3. The other six teams in contention here — the Lakers, Denver, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State, Minnesota and Memphis — could all still finish as high as third and as low as eighth. Endless possibilities.
—West No. 9: It’s probably Sacramento, maybe Dallas.
—West No. 10: It’s probably Dallas, maybe Phoenix.
—West Eliminated: Portland, San Antonio, New Orleans, Utah.
Add it up, and 21 of the 30 teams are still playing for something other than lottery odds with less than a week to go in the regular season.
Tuesday's games
Memphis at Charlotte: The Grizzlies need a win to climb out of play-in range.
Chicago at Cleveland: Bulls looking to move out of 9-10 game range, Cavs looking to clinch No. 1 seed.
Washington at Indiana: Pacers looking to wrap up home-court for Round 1.
Atlanta at Orlando: A huge matchup for East play-in positioning. Could be the first of three games between these two in an eight-day span.
Boston at New York: Celtics need 2-0 road finish to match NBA’s best road mark. Knicks looking to lock up No. 3 seed.
Minnesota at Milwaukee: Wolves trying to stay out of play-in, Bucks trying to move closer to No. 5 seed.
LA Lakers at Oklahoma City: Lakers seeking a two-game sweep of trip to OKC ... and then Luka Doncic goes to Dallas on Wednesday.
Golden State at Phoenix: Suns need a big finish to have any chance. Warriors hoping for home-court in Round 1.
San Antonio at LA Clippers: One thing to note; the Spurs’ Chris Paul is still on track to become the second-oldest player to start 82 games, which would be an amazing story.
New Orleans at Brooklyn: No playoff impact.
National TV schedule
Tuesday has a TNT doubleheader, with New York-Boston and Golden State-Phoenix. There's an ESPN doubleheader on Wednesday — Lakers-Mavericks for Luka Doncic's return to Dallas, followed by Denver-Sacramento.
Betting odds
Oklahoma City (+175) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed closely by Boston (+200), Cleveland (+500), then the Lakers (+1000), Golden State (+1200) and Denver (+1600). Nobody else has odds shorter than 35-1.
Key dates
April 11 — All 30 NBA teams play.
April 12 — No games.
April 13 — All 30 NBA teams play, end of regular season.
April 15 — The No. 7 and No. 8 finishers in both conferences play to start the play-in tournament. Winners are the No. 7 seed for the playoffs; losers will host play-in elimination games on April 18.
April 16 — The No. 9 and No. 10 finishers in both conferences play. Winners move on to April 18; losers are finished for the season.
April 18 — The April 15 game losers play host to the April 16 game winners. Winners are the No. 8 seed for the playoffs; losers are finished for the season.
April 19 — NBA playoffs begin.
Numbers watch
—The NBA record for total 3-pointers made in a season fell on Sunday. Boston also has broken the NBA's single-season records for 3-pointers made and attempted by a team.
—For the first time, the NBA could have three players make 300 3-pointers in a season. Detroit's Malik Beasley has 305, Minnesota's Anthony Edwards has 303 and Golden State’s Stephen Curry has 294. Edwards and Beasley are the fourth and fifth players with 300 3s in a season in NBA history. Curry has five seasons of 300 3s or more, James Harden has one and Klay Thompson has one.
—There have been four instances of teammates each having 250 3-pointers in a season: Curry and Thompson did it four times when they were the Warriors' “Splash Brothers.” Boston could have three players reach that number this season: Derrick White is already there with 258, Payton Pritchard has 246 and Jayson Tatum has 243.
Stat of the day
The Thunder are on the brink of setting an NBA record for point differential. They’re winning by an average of 12.5 points per game; the record is 12.3 by the 1971-72 Lakers.
Oklahoma City has outscored teams by 977 points so far; three teams — the 1971-72 Lakers (1,007), the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks (1,005) and the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls (1,004) are the only teams to enjoy a 1,000-point differential over a full season.