In a few weeks, Justin Verlander will be a free agent. The Houston Astros member, who is recovering from Tommy John-type surgery, wanted to pitch right now, but medics made him realize it wasn’t exactly a good idea.
So here it is on the sidelines before obtaining autonomy. The Astros will want to keep him and he risks receiving a qualifying offer from his club.
The problem for him is that if the clubs are not inclined to offer him a contract for several seasons, giving him a year while paying a compensatory choice to the Astros is not necessarily a good idea. This therefore opens the door to a “forced” return to Houston.
Does he want? We do not know. After all, he’s opened the door to the Tigers and Astros in the past, and we know he’d like to launch near Hollywood, where he and his wife Kate Upton own a home.
But in all of this, don’t forget New York.
According to what we can read in a column in the New York Post, the pitcher would have asked the Tigers to trade him to New York (at the Yankees) in 2017. The Bombardiers did not want to go get him and he then took the Houston way at the last second.
What if history repeats itself? What if, with his family, he headed to New York in 2022?
Whether it’s the Mets or the Yankees, the need for a pitcher to back the # 1 pitcher in the rotation will be felt. Jacob deGrom is often injured (and depth is uncertain) and the Yankees could recreate the 2018-19 duo Gerrit Cole and Verlander.
Obviously, again, the guy is coming back from an injury. Maybe the teams will be careful… especially if it is linked to a compensatory choice.
If he chose New York, he wouldn’t be badly received. The signal theft scandal is going better among launchers …
Ultimately, I see him more going to Los Angeles (with Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw?), Staying in Houston (even if the group transforms) or returning to Detroit (with AJ Hinch… and Carlos Correa?) Than trying the New York experience.
But for a couple glamour, the Big Apple has its charm.
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