THE KEY MOVE THAT PUT THE ASTROS IN THE WORLD SERIES
Houston’s acquisition of veteran pitcher from Detroit in last-minute deal gave the Astros the ace they needed to make it to the World Series.
HOUSTON — Everyone who knows baseball understands this all started with a massive, unprecedented, often-controversial rebuild.
If you really know the 2017 Astros, you know this year’s American League pennant-winning team really began in July 2016, when general manager Jeff Luhnow got a head start on offseason free agency by signing veteran Cuban hitter Yuli Gurriel to a then-risky five-year, $47.5 million contract.
But why are these Astros in the World Series when the 102-win Indians, Yankees and Red Sox are not? Aug. 31. That date has come to define this team and this season.
And, really, where would these Astros be without Justin Verlander?
Watching instead of winning, surely. Whispering “next year” instead of flying to Los Angeles to take on the richest team in baseball in a seven-game series for the 2017 championship.
“Yeah, I’m glad I did that deal. It worked out OK,” a smiling Luhnow said late Saturday night inside still-buzzing Minute Maid Park, wearing a “World Series” cap with the Astros’ logo underneath. “He’s been unbelievable. Justin’s been amazing and hopefully he’s got a couple more good starts in him before the end of the year.” Amazing is a semi-understatement. The AL Championship Series MVP is 4-0 with a 1.46 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP and 24 strikeouts in 24⅔ playoff innings for his new team. He’s 9-0 overall since agreeing to a last-minute trade to Houston on Aug. 31. After his arrival, which occurred in the middle of Hurricane Harvey, the
Astros went 21-8 to close out the regular season, and then knocked off two of MLB’s most-storied franchises in the playoffs.
Starts with Verlander
Verlander’s addition created multiple domino effects at once - in the rotation, on the field and in the clubhouse.
Dallas Keuchel, who’ll start Game 1 of the World Series against Clayton Kershaw, was allowed to become a trusted No. 2 arm who no longer had to carry the Astros every five days. Lance McCullers Jr., who shut down Game 7 of the ALCS against the Yankees, was allowed to bounce between starting and relief roles as he returned to form. Game 7 starter Charlie Morton became a more dangerous No. 3 arm.
“Obviously (Verlander is) a premier performer at the highest times, the most intense times,” manager A.J. Hinch said after the Astros advanced to the World Series for just the second time in franchise history. “And you can’t teach that. And you can’t buy it. You have to have it or you don’t, and Verlander has it.
“So for him to come to this city and to this team - to recognize the opportunity and then go out and do it - is pretty impressive. I think I’ve seen an incremental increase in every facet of our game since he arrived . ... That kind of impact is hard to articulate. It’s also hard to get.”
As we all know, it literally almost didn’t happen and nearly fell apart in the final hours. But when Verlander in orange and blue became true, everyone who lived through the bad 100-loss years finally had proof that the rebuilt Astros were built to win in 2017.
Owner Jim Crane and Luhnow could tear down, rebuild and jump from 70 wins in 2014 to 101 just three years later. But as the ’17 Astros slid through an 11-17 August — strongly called out by Keuchel for not improving the team before the July 31 nonwaiver deadline — it became clear this club was fading as the playoffs came into sight.
Much-needed veterans with postseason experience (Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Josh Reddick) and contact bats were added before the Astros warmed up in West Palm Beach, Fla., eventually giving Hinch the deepest daily lineup in baseball.
But the Astros were incomplete, balancing their longterm championship window with the reality they began 2017 as the sharpest team in the sport and could finish that way.
Luhnow’s fingerprints
Verlander on Aug. 31 was exactly the type of prospect for a shot at the World Series deal that baseball’s biggest clubs annually make.
Four seasons after losing 111, these Astros went all in — and they have a young core that will be in uniform for years.
“Jeff ’s fingerprints are all over this team,” Verlander said. “I think he’s done a fantastic job building an organization from the ground up. He got a lot of flak early in here with the Astros. It wasn’t with conventional thinking. But the proof is in the pudding — here we are. And I couldn’t personally be more thankful for him bringing me here to be in this situation.”
Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer and the rest of Hinch’s crew are in the World Series, where they belong.
But these Astros aren’t alive in late October without Aug. 31.