The more time passes, the more it seems clear that the future of Justin Verlander no longer passes through the Houston Astros, his team since 2017.
Why? Because the club does not need to invest $43.3 million per year (more or less a few million dollars) on a pitcher.
After all, the club has a great rotation…and there are also rumors that some people in the organization didn’t like seeing Verlander being “pulled” by the club in the playoffs – not seeing him take the lead on his own. .
Add to that the fact that a three-year contract for a guy who will soon be 40 is not in the club’s plans and we have the perfect recipe for a less than ideal negotiation process. At the moment, negotiations are not looking good with the Astros.
This would mean that at this moment, according to Jon Heyman, it would be played between New York and Los Angeles.
We already knew that the Mets and the Dodgers were in the mix, but it seems that the Yankees are also in the heart of the case. The club needs pitchers and the presence of Gerrit Cole in the Bronx could help attract his friend Verlander.
But in fact, it’s more between the Mets and the Dodgers that it’s played.
The Dodgers, in my eyes, have always been the perfect destination. After all, the couple he forms with Kate Upton have a house in the corner of LA and the Dodgers (a wealthy club that needs pitchers) are not necessarily related to Jacob deGrom.
But do we have to take the Mets out of the race for all that? No.
Yes, right now Jacob deGrom is tipped to step into the Mets uniform in 2023, but that could change quickly, though. But if that changes, Verlander is a good plan B for the Mets.
Note also that the Mets, who want a big pitcher, would be more and more intrigued by the possibility of reuniting Verlander and Max Scherzer. The two made the rain and the good weather at the time at the Tigers, one will remember it.
Will the file take on importance during the winter conferences, which will take place next week? To be continued.
