The dust settled yesterday afternoon on the latest monumental Jim Crane swing for the fences at an MLB trade deadline, as the Astros reclaimed Justin Verlander from the Mets, in a deal that sent the Mets two of the Astros top prospects, sent the Astros Verlander and a whopping $54 million to pay huge chunks of his salary the next two years, and vaulted the Astros up into the strata of the top two favorites to represent the American League in the World Series.
Indeed, if the Astros are trying to, at a minimum, keep their streak fo six straight (soon to be seven, perhaps) appearances in the ALCS, acquiring Verlander was a massive step on Tuesday. That’s not just because Verlander himself is so great, but the ripple effect of having JV back in the building should steady some of the inconsistencies with the young guys on the staff.
Hell, Framber Valdez went out and celebrated by tossing the first complete game no hitter by a lefty in franchise history on Tuesday night. The Verlander Effect is real!
Now, if it feels a little different this time around than the trade deadline deal in 2017 that delivered Verlander to Houston, there are good reasons for that, and it’s not just the fact that 2017’s trade occurred at the now-defunct non-waiver deadline on August 31, and it’s not just because the Mets sent over an unprecedented pile of cash with Verlander. There are other key differences between 2017 and 2023, and here they are:
4. The 2017 trade came with literally seconds left on the shot clock
Like the Randy Johnson trade to the Astros that preceded it in 1998, the first Verlander trade was consummated with literally seconds left before the deadline. Think about life without Verlander the last six years. That’s how close we came to history being altered here in Houston. While this trade still came down on the final day, this deal still gave the Astros a few hours of breathing room to either sit back and enjoy it, or try to make other moves.
3. The 2017 trade sent Verlander here in the middle of a natural disaster
Verlander was traded to the Astros the first time back on August 31, 2017. Six days prior to this, the city was buried under several feet of water by Hurricane Harvey. To say we were in serious need of a pick-me-up would have been a gross understatement. Verlander arrived in Houston in early September, ironically as the Astros resumed home games at Minute Maid Park against the Mets, of all teams. This time around, the only real weather issue is a heat index that is hovering around “surface of the sun” level temperatures. Granted, hurricane season hasn’t really hit yet. Okay, let’s just stop talking about this, and move along.
2. In 2017, Verlander had to be sold hard on waiving his no trade clause to come here
In 2017, the Houston Astros were not a blue blood, championship level franchise. Hell, they were only four seasons removed from three straight 100 loss seasons, including a disastrous 11 loss year in 2013. The team had nice young core nucleus, but was it worth it for Verlander to leave the only franchise he really knew, the Detroit Tigers, for the unknown of Houston for the next two-plus seasons. (He was under contract through 2019.) At the time, it was Astros ace Dallas Kuechel who would be the primary pitchman for the Astros to lure Verlander here, and obviously it worked. Verlander waived his no trade clause at the 11th hour, and the rest is history. This time around, Verlander used his no trade clause with the Mets to desperately get out of New York and return to Houston. Times have changed!
1. The Astros are a far more desperate team in 2023, than they were in 2017
This difference is the most important one, for baseball purposes. In 2017, while the Astros had yet to win a World Series in their history, they were already an elite team in that season. They were 11.5 games ahead of the pack in the AL West when the Verlander trade went down. There’s a decent chance that the Astros make a deep playoff run, even without Verlander. In 2023, they actually trailed the Rangers by a half game on the day the Verlander trade was made. The Astros may end up as a wild card team. The road to a title is much rockier. In 2017, Verlander was a luxury item. In 2023, Verlander is a necessity.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
