Having a field day
None of Astros’ top four starters signed beyond this season
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — They are the aces.
They are also the only big names. Justin Verlander has been owning MLB mounds for more than a decade. Gerrit Cole is a former No. 1 overall pick with 74 wins in six seasons, two top-five Cy Young finishes and a career 3.37 ERA.
Verlander and Cole as the Astros’ Nos. 1 and 2 starting arms is nothing new.
But Dallas Keuchel has spent months stuck in baseball limbo, Lance McCullers Jr. will spend an entire new season on the mend, and Charlie Morton is a veteran starter for the Astros’ opening-day opponent.
As Verlander and Cole go in 2019, so go the Astros. And the free-agent clock is ticking on both as Houston’s MLB team tries to capture its second World Series title in three years.
Verlander, who will turn 36 on Wednesday, is set to hit the open market after the 2019 World Series. Cole, 28, could join his current teammate and good friend in free agency at the same time.
Try to re-sign Verlander while acknowledging Cole’s free-enterprise price will be too high? Attempt to ink both, cementing M- inute Maid Park’s mound foundation into
the next decade? Allow two old-school power arms — 31 combined wins, 566 strikeouts and 4141⁄3 innings in 2018 — to walk, banking on prospects, trades and other signings to fill the huge void?
The big decisions never stop when you’re near the top. The Astros are about to enter 2019 always keeping an eye on the to-be-determined futures of their aces.
“We think about, we discuss internally, potential extensions for all of our players. We don’t discuss it outside of the front office,” general manager Jeff Luhnow said on a sunny Thursday at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. “But suffice it to say, we will have those conversations internally at least. And if the players are willing to engage, we might go beyond that.”
The huge, franchise-altering announcement during spring training last season: a five-year, $151 million extension for franchise face Jose Altuve.
Contract seasons
Leading up to the Astros’ World Series title in 2017, the under-the-radar question was whether a rebuilt club could keep its young position-playing core (Altuve, George Springer, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman) in orange and blue long enough to secure multiple championships. In February 2019, the soon-to-bepressing Q is who’ll be leading the Astros’ starting staff next season.
Verlander, joking: “It’s a contract year?”
Cole: “It takes two people to negotiate. Am I going to sit here and close the door on anything? No. … This has been a wonderful place. I’ve enjoyed playing here, and it checks a lot of boxes for me.”
Collin McHugh, A.J. Hinch’s No. 3 starter, is also set to be a free agent after the completion of the 2019 campaign. The same for No. 4 starter Wade Miley, who joined the Astros on a oneyear deal in a frigid free-agent market.
The Astros’ immediate future is bright. But the recent offseason of change could feel warm and fuzzy if Verlander and Cole are sporting new colors in 2020.
“We’re going to have a lot of free agents next year,” Luhnow said. “It’s part of the flexibility, along with players becoming free agents. We have more flexibility in terms of spots and payroll dollars as well. We have plenty of time to prepare on 2020. Right now, our focus is on 2019.”
There’s a reason the GM said “flexibility” twice. The Astros are loaded with options and potential future realities.
McCullers, 25, should be back in the rotation in 2020. Forrest Whitley, Corbin Martin and J.B. Bukauskas could all be the next big thing.
“We’re going to have a lot more information by the end of the year, as far as how ready they are,” said Luhnow, referring to the organization’s top pitching prospects.
Verlander, who has contemporary Hall of Fame-caliber numbers, hopes to throw until he’s 45. Cole was just awarded $13.5 million in arbitration, which set an MLB record.
The Astros are the team that traded prospects for Verlander — which brought a World Series trophy to Houston — dealt more prospects for Cole, then almost traded for slugger Bryce Harper the season after winning it all for the first time. They’re the same team that held off on acquiring prized catcher J.T. Realmuto when the price was too high.
Delicate balance
“We always have to balance present with future,” Luhnow said. “We want to win now, but we want to keep winning for the foreseeable future. That’s been our strategy, and we hope it works.”
Every other team in MLB would love to have Verlander and Cole at the top in 2019.
The Astros, who traded potential futures for both, must figure out how much longer they can keep their All-Star aces in uniform.