Ace in the hole
Astros open to extending Justin Verlander.
With Justin Verlander having recently said he is amenable to a contract extension, general manager Jeff Luhnow suggested Wednesday the Astros are open to discussing one with the righthander.
“We love Justin Verlander, and we traded for him for a reason, and he clearly has not declined at all. He continues to be one of the elite pitchers in the game,” Luhnow said at the Astros’ annual preseason media luncheon. “Of course we would have interest in keeping him around here as long as we possibly can.”
Verlander is entering the final season of the seven-year, $180 million contract he signed with the Tigers. He made the voiding of a 2020 option year a condition of accepting his trade to the Astros in August 2017.
Verlander, who turns 36 on Feb. 20, is coming off a season that saw him finish as runnerup to the Rays’ Blake Snell in voting for the American League Cy Young Award. Verlander was 16-9 with a 2.52 ERA, a major league-best 0.90 WHIP and an AL-leading 290 strikeouts.
None of the Astros’ top four projected starting pitchers — Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Collin
McHugh and recent free-agent acquisition Wade Miley —is signed beyond 2019. Lance
McCullers Jr., who will miss the season after Tommy John surgery, is expected back in 2020.
“As much as we had several free agents this last offseason, we’re going to have even more next season and the season after that, so it’s something we’re going to constantly have to deal with,” Luhnow said. “We’ll have those conversations at the right time with the players that have expressed an interest or may express an interest (in an extension) and those players that we want to keep around.
“I don’t discuss those things as they’re going on, but suffice it to say we think about it, we care about it, and we want to keep as many good players as we can for the foreseeable future.”
Bregman takes strides forward
An hour before Astros manager A.J. Hinch delivered his state of the team address at Wednesday’s media luncheon, his third baseman showed the most significant step of his rehabilitation process.
Alex Bregman returned to hitting, striking baseballs off a tee and taking swings against soft tosses as he eases back to normalcy following right elbow surgery Jan. 11. Bregman called Hinch on Tuesday evening to share the latest rehab step. Wednesday, he posted a video to document his progress.
“He was very excitable,” Hinch said. “He’ll continue to add volume to his workouts, but one of the things I’m most excited about is how healthy we’re getting, especially on the position player side, and he’s certainly a key part of that.”
The surgery removed loose bone chips from Bregman’s right elbow, a problem that had plagued him since his major league debut in 2016. The AllStar MVP said in January he would play pain-free for the first time in three years.
Bregman, 24, is expected to be limited at the beginning of spring training, though Hinch intimated Wednesday that his workload might not differ from a normal spring. The manager likes to bring along his everyday position players slowly in spring.
“I actually don’t think Bregman is going to miss as much time as even in a normal spring,” Hinch said.
Additions possible before camp opens
General manager Jeff Luhnow did not rule out another addition to his club before it convenes in West Palm Beach, Fla., but he acknowledged it would most likely be non-roster invitees who compete for jobs in spring training.
“We’re starting from a pretty good spot where we have a lot of good options for our roster and a lot of good options who aren’t even going to make our team,” Luhnow said. “Whoever we get, if you sign them to a guaranteed contract, they have to be certainly better than what your internal options are.”
The Astros have one spot open on their 40-man roster but face a sizable roster crunch within their outfield and bench. Jake Marisnick will be out of options by May, and Tony Kemp will begin the season with no options available. Kyle Tucker, the organization’s No. 1 position player prospect, and Myles Straw are on the 40-man roster.
The infield is entrenched and a spot in the bullpen ostensibly will be solved once competition for the fifth starter’s role is over. Luhnow also said the organization must stay ready for the non-waiver trade deadline in July, should help be required.
“We talked about leaving stuff in the tank, whether it’s money or prospects, to make some deals during the season or even before the season if it presents itself,” Luhnow said. “We’re not going to rest on our hands, but we certainly like the team we have, and we think we have a pretty good chance of accomplishing our goals.”
Cole’s hearing set for Monday
Gerrit Cole’s salary arbitration hearing against the Astros is scheduled for Monday, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Chronicle.
The 28-year-old righthander is in his final season of arbitration eligibility. He requested $13.5 million; the club countered with $11.425 million. MLB Trade Rumors’ arbitration salary projection model predicted a $13.1 million salary for Cole, who is one year away from a lucrative foray into free agency.
In his first season as an Astro, Cole finished fifth in American League Cy Young voting while garnering his second career All-Star appearance. He struck out a career-high 276 batters while leading the major leagues with 12.4 strikeouts per nine.
Cole is the last of the Astros’ three arbitration-eligible players who did not agree to terms prior to the Jan. 11 salary figure deadline. Shortstop Carlos
Correa announced Tuesday he won his arbitration hearing against the club and will make $5 million in 2019. Reliever
Chris Devenski agreed to a one-year deal with a club option for 2020 prior to the date of his scheduled hearing.