What to do with Verlander?

[ssmallz]

Yeah, it makes me reevaluate him. I regret tossing him in as a throw in late in the season to get Morton. He is being paid like a near ace. Big investment like that shows confidence from a team that is generally cautious.

Real baseball is different than fantasy. First off the MLB needs dudes who can throw innings so even if he's got a mid 4s ERA he'll still be a very useful MLB pitcher. Secondly, they have much larger rosters so even if he does implode or get reinjured they have replacements. The Astros also only signed him to a 1 year deal so there's not a ton of risk on their side. Don't forget they also don't need to worry about cutting him if he's having a terrible first half like you would as fantasy manager. They can just let him pitch through it or manipulate his innings. There's also the intangable qualities he can bring a to real baseball team that we can't measure.

[Gregg]

Real baseball is different than fantasy. First off the MLB needs dudes who can throw innings so even if he's got a mid 4s ERA he'll still be a very useful MLB pitcher. Secondly, they have much larger rosters so even if he does implode or get reinjured they have replacements. The Astros also only signed him to a 1 year deal so there's not a ton of risk on their side. Don't forget they also don't need to worry about cutting him if he's having a terrible first half like you would as fantasy manager. They can just let him pitch through it or manipulate his innings. There's also the intangable qualities he can bring a to real baseball team that we can't measure.

You make some good points. I would consider these as well.

There is a second year player option (not mutual) So the risk is $50M.

Any one that plays in a league with a reserve roster and/or FAAB will be able to fill in the Verlander slot with a good MR if needed.

I have to think that most keeper leagues have Verlander at a cheap cost relative to their leagues value. He should be entering into his second or B contract at that cheap price. In my case he is a $1B. He not only is a no brainer keeper for me, he is an exciting one.

I might not be willing to pay what he would go for if he was back in the auction, I doubt he will be back in most auction/keeper formats.

[madducks]

Yeah, $50 million over 2 years = whole helluva lot of risk.

[madducks]

This makes things a lot more interesting:

The Astros did not make the re-signing of Justin Verlander official prior to the lockout.

And it can't become official until a new CBA is in place, which means Verlander is still technically a free agent. It's curious, because reports of Verlander's one-year, $25 million deal (with a $25 million player option for 2023) surfaced two weeks prior to the expiration of the previous CBA. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes that the "logical conclusion is that an issue arose" with Verlander's physical. That's just speculation at this point, though. Verlander hasn't commented on the situation and the Astros aren't able to during the lockout. The 38-year-old, of course, is on the comeback trail from Tommy John surgery.

[TranaGreg]

This makes things a lot more interesting:

The Astros did not make the re-signing of Justin Verlander official prior to the lockout.

And it can't become official until a new CBA is in place, which means Verlander is still technically a free agent. It's curious, because reports of Verlander's one-year, $25 million deal (with a $25 million player option for 2023) surfaced two weeks prior to the expiration of the previous CBA. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes that the "logical conclusion is that an issue arose" with Verlander's physical. That's just speculation at this point, though. Verlander hasn't commented on the situation and the Astros aren't able to during the lockout. The 38-year-old, of course, is on the comeback trail from Tommy John surgery.

I heard that they read this thread & had second thoughts.

[The Feral Slasher]

I heard that they read this thread & had second thoughts.

They should re-read post 46

[madducks]

And now the contract between Verlander and the Astros is official once again.

Buster Olney of ESPN reports that MLB and the union "have worked through the final details," apparently in regard to some language in the Verlander contract.

I guess the negotiating freeze doesn't apply to "final details."

[madducks]

Justin Verlander's $25 million player option for the 2023 season is conditional upon him reaching 130 innings pitched in 2022.

[Gregg]

Justin Verlander's $25 million player option for the 2023 season is conditional upon him reaching 130 innings pitched in 2022.

Good news for those that have him cheap.

[The Feral Slasher]

Interesting article on Verlander

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/18/s...er-astros.html

During his recovery, Verlander worked not only on his elbow but also on overall mobility; he said he felt “incredible” now and had incorporated that training into his routine. He said he would spend a few hours on Saturday dissecting his two innings against the Cardinals — anything to keep evolving and pushing.

Verlander has often said that he wants to pitch through age 45, which would give him seven more seasons, a reasonable time frame to collect those 74 victories. Do not be surprised if he does it.

“The carrot in front of me that I keep striving for is to be great,” Verlander said. “And so I wouldn’t do it otherwise.”

[madducks]

Interesting article on Verlander

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/18/s...er-astros.html

During his recovery, Verlander worked not only on his elbow but also on overall mobility; he said he felt “incredible” now and had incorporated that training into his routine. He said he would spend a few hours on Saturday dissecting his two innings against the Cardinals — anything to keep evolving and pushing.

Verlander has often said that he wants to pitch through age 45, which would give him seven more seasons, a reasonable time frame to collect those 74 victories. Do not be surprised if he does it.

“The carrot in front of me that I keep striving for is to be great,” Verlander said. “And so I wouldn’t do it otherwise.”

Verlander is one of the very few guys that i think could pitch effectively until age 45 if he wants to.

Justin Verlander March 29, 2022:

https://www.mlb.com/video/justin-verlander-fans-six-batters

[madducks]

Justin Verlander's first regular season game since July 2020:

5ip, 3h, 1er, 3bb, 7k (80 pitches, 47 strikes)

Plus, he struck out Ohtani all 3 times.

[madducks]

Congrats to everyone who got an ace pitcher for cheap.

[rhd]

I got him for $11 last year, so not exactly cheap. I thought that there was no way I'd keep him for that price but the pre-season projections for him were so good that I ended up keeping him. Rt now, I'm glad I did. Just hope he keeps it up.

[The Feral Slasher]

Justin Verlander is not showing as a probable pitcher this week...anyone seen any news on why that may be ?