LOST IN SPACE
In need of pitchers, Houston should target Tigers vet Verlander
THE ASTROS have the AL’s most comfortable division lead by far, and yet arguably are under more stress than any team to perform baseball magic — find a useful pitcher or two who gets through waivers.
Houston had lost nine of 13 through Wednesday, including six of eight since dispiriting the clubhouse by failing to upgrade at the non-waiver trade deadline. More than 20 relievers (most of the useful-to-very-useful variety) as well as two wellregarded starters, Jose Quintana and Sonny Gray, were traded leading up to the 4 p.m. deadline on July 31.
The Astros landed none of them, acquiring just failed starter Francisco Liriano to serve in their bullpen, from where he has yielded three runs in 1 2/3 innings in three outings so far (three hits, three walks, one strikeout).
This coincides with a period of real worry about the Astros’ staff. Ace Dallas Keuchel has yielded 14 runs on 23 hits and eight walks with seven strikeouts in 12 innings in three starts off the disabled list, raising concerns his neck still is not right. Fragile No. 2 starter Lance McCullers Jr. is on the DL with a back ailment. The trickle-down effect has been felt in a bullpen, which is minus Will Harris’ key arm. The overall second-half ERA was an AL-worst 5.52 through Wednesday.
Houston was still 71-42 and led the AL West by 13 games. But in the first half, the Astros were dominating the sport with the Dodgers. But Los Angeles addressed potential vulnerabilities by acquiring Yu Darvish, Tony Cingrani and Tony Watson, and has kept thriving.
The Astros believed the Rangers would never deal Darvish to them and allow, for example, the righty to start this weekend in Texas when the Rangers are retiring Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez’s number with Houston in town.
The Astros instead homed in on the Orioles’ Zach Britton. In fact, as Rodriguez was being inducted on July 30, both Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow and Baltimore counterpart Dan Duquette were in Cooperstown and the Astros believed a deal could be struck. But as one AL executive said, “You better have backup plans when you are deal- ing with the weirdest team in baseball.” Those are the dysfunctional Orioles, and when Baltimore backed out near the deadline, Houston was unable to pivot to add a useful pen arm or two as the Dodgers did with Cingrani or Watson, or an Addison Reed or a Brandon Kintzler.
Outside executives say Houston was very protective of its elite prospects, not wanting to damage the near future. But the Astros never have won a World Series. They have an elite offense and a prime-aged, inexpensive core. The future is not guaranteed. There is great opportunity now.
The most obvious fix would be Justin Verlander, who already has passed through waivers. But executives who have talked with the Tigers say Detroit does not perceive the righty as a money dump and want elite prospects back. Verlander is due $56 million between 2018-19 and, I think, the Astros should be pushing to get him.
I know Verlander turns 35 in February. But he was the AL Cy Young runner-up last year and in six second-half starts this year has a 2.01 ERA and .554 OPS against. He is exactly the durable starter Houston needs not just now, but for 2018-19. They should prioritize maximizing winning while their brilliant core of Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa and George Springer is young and cost-effective, and when players such as Marwin Gonzalez and Josh Reddick are having career years they are unlikely to duplicate.
But I can’t find an executive who thinks these two teams can deal in August. So the Astros should think about trades that would cost less in prospects and hope to catch baseball lightning in a bottle because, remember, Verlander is not the norm — almost all good players get claimed in August. Only the expensive or ineffective become available.