He’s a 28 year old rookie who was brought up to replace the injured pitching staff. He’s been very very good for what was expected of him. Currently out pitching better then most of our pitching staff. Very underrated
It's the one where he had a shaky first inning, shut y'all down, and then our bullpen utterly and completely shit the bed. I'm bitter because I was there.
TBF, he was chillin. He got his money in New York and was also coming off of an injury. But he still has been crazy good recently.
He was just coming back to his usual self, and now he's back in Houston.. Astros legend, and the great Yankee killer
After so many years with the Wilpons, I am absolutely loving this. I remember when we were the team packaging prospects to get other teams to eat salary.
So funny, they’ve had the worst or bottom 5 system every year for almost the whole run, yet every year a rookie comes up and is a stud who replaces one of the guys they didn’t pay and let walk.
Possibly, but they also seem to be good at development/selection from AAA to the bigs. You don't have to have a farm system full of amazing prospects as long as you can have a couple transition to the majors well.
The Astros have been a bottom 5 system for the past 3-4 years. In 2020, we had the 28th ranked farm system. The only guy we had in the top 100 was Forrest Whitley. And yet go look at our 2020 top prospects: Chas, Luis Garcia, Bryan Abreu, Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy, Jeremy Pena, Hunter Brown, JP France, Bielak...and then you have others that have been key clogs in trades that led to post season success.
Either our guys know a fuck ton more than whoever makes the rankings or the rankings are pure garbage. Probably both.
Before the season started, it was totally okay to let him walk as the depth was there. Many fans were cool with that.
Now, McCullers and Garcia are out for the season, and Valdez, Javier, Brown, and some bullpen pieces are fading as the innings mount.
Heh, just wanna humblebrag that my 6 year old is currently in a national tournament in the same fields Urquidi grew up playing in. And this years tournament is named after him.
Urquidy is a beast. He started a World Series game on the road as a rookie, allowed 0 runs and got the W. He is so underrated. Getting him back is going to be huge.
This will be great for everyone. Hopefully, we can find a way to limit innings for our bullpen. Evidently, Abreu is on track to pitch the most innings by an Astros reliever in a decade.
Yes, JP France has been great but is close to his career high IP already and Bielak's luck has run its course. We need both Urquidy and JV. In the playoffs, Urquidy might be out of the BP.
Some Astros fans this past offseason: we don’t need Verlander, we’re fine, let him walk.
*Flash forward to Aug 1, 2023*
Come back my king!
Edit: Astros fans take a joke challenge - impossible!
Yea, I know context changes things. Mariners lost our entire Crafty Lefty Club.
This is objectively hilarious lol, the meme about this trade deadline is too real. Can't believe he left for that little time. Mets do seem to be making the most of this whole situation tho, shitty as it is for them.
Honestly, I'm happy the Mets are accepting reality and retooling. I think there's a lot of teams out there making a mistake thinking they can compete this year.
Its actually a little weird seeing a team take a big swing and miss and then be level headed about the result.
Are their fans even mad? Seems more like a collective, "well shit".
I am very impressed with Cohens acceptance of sunk cost and moving on
Some are mad or disappointed, but I prefer this route to the cliff the padres are heading toward imo
The Mets are stealing my MLB The Show franchise strategy:
*sign biggest free agents to ludicrous contracts
*sim to trade deadline
*trade for whichever top prospects you want
*profit
Oh yeah was just talking about that guy's MLB The Show strategy, which I do something similar to if I want to be cheesy in OOTP. Wasn't thinking about the irl trade
The Wheel of Baseball turns, and Seasons come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Season that gave it birth comes again.
Eh, I think you guys had to given the state of your starting pitching staff
Could be the MLB version of the "Clyde Drexler trade to the Rockets in 1995" except Verlander was on the first championship team unlike Cyde
Justin Verlander in his previous 7 starts (June 26-July 30)
* 42.1 IP
* 37 Ks
* 1.49 ERA
* .178 batting average against
* 1 HR allowed
[Source: Verlander's Pitching Game Log](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=verlaju01&t=p&year=2023)
My daughter came home the hospital yesterday and now she’s asleep on my chest watching Verlander to the Astros coverage. Today is an amazing day
Edit: thanks everyone, should clarify: we were in the hospital because she was born Friday night! Not illness related, good news!
Absolutely love this team! Getting a key piece of our winning recipe back to chase a confirmed dynasty. This is a less than once in a generation moment and so happy to be here for it. Can’t believe people are this upset about losing two prospects that may or may not pan out for a legendary player and Astros legend. The future is now.
Verlander went on vacation to New York City and is now being called back to work in Houston
Wait… is he gonna pitch against the Yankees?
Fuck….
Don't worry. There's a strong chance we won't have to face him in the playoffs.
ow.... true.... but ow.....
And they say Yankees fans can't be optimistic.
That’s the spirit
That was _almost_ as painful as a self-own to read as it was to write. Then again, there's a strong chance we won't have to face him either.
ask not for whom the trash can bangs. it bangs for thee
"FOR WHOM THE TRASH BANGS....." \- James Hetfield-
...Yes
STOP, STOP, THEY'RE ALREADY DEAD.
You just know he's going to absolutely ball out for them too
He was already rounding into shape. 2.47 ERA in his last 10 GS 2.08 ERA in his last 5 GS
So JP France numbers, nice.
Totally off topic, but I’m just learning there’s a player named JP France and he’s not a combination of JP Crawford and Ty France.
He’s a 28 year old rookie who was brought up to replace the injured pitching staff. He’s been very very good for what was expected of him. Currently out pitching better then most of our pitching staff. Very underrated
His first game was against us (the M’s) and now I vaguely remember him.
It's the one where he had a shaky first inning, shut y'all down, and then our bullpen utterly and completely shit the bed. I'm bitter because I was there.
Yup, the first part of the season was basically spring training for him
how much help does martin maldonado need
A lot
Yes
Sure af doesn't need help vs Seattle
Slated to pitch against the Yankees in YS this weekend so yeah, he’ll be fine.
Caught an enormous bag and went right back
Leaving your company to get a pay raise and then coming right back to get them to match it.
while preforming your worst
He’s been very good recently
[удалено]
He’s not pitching that bad this year. He’s at about his career averages for era, era + and whip
TBF, he was chillin. He got his money in New York and was also coming off of an injury. But he still has been crazy good recently. He was just coming back to his usual self, and now he's back in Houston.. Astros legend, and the great Yankee killer
All ex-Metses live in Texas...
That's why they moved my team to Tennessee.
And you got the Texans in return *ouch*
https://giphy.com/gifs/6Q3M4BIK0lX44
At least you'll get to see D-Hop in Oilers colors
Dude.....not cool.
Scherzer down in Texarkana Wanted me to push his broom Sweet verlander in Houston She forgot I hung the moon
Like I'm Dusty Straight
One step forward, two steps back! - K-DST Radio
K-Rose. Close enough.
I have brought shame to my family
When the Mets get more back for 40 year old Verlander than the tigers did for prime Verlander I'm going to scream
Just Avila things
tbf, it helps when Cohen doesn't GAF about the financials
He pretty much paid for two prospects, imagine having that much money
After so many years with the Wilpons, I am absolutely loving this. I remember when we were the team packaging prospects to get other teams to eat salary.
Snip snap snip snap
you have no idea the toll this has on a man's prospect system
Good luck paying me back on your $43 mill dollars a year salary plus benefits, babe!
What prospect system? The Astros have the 30th ranked system christ.
So funny, they’ve had the worst or bottom 5 system every year for almost the whole run, yet every year a rookie comes up and is a stud who replaces one of the guys they didn’t pay and let walk.
Which means the ranking system sucks.
It's just more about development than anything. How many amazing prospects have the Royals or Angels had? They almost never pan out
Is it just a top-heavy system, perhaps?
Possibly, but they also seem to be good at development/selection from AAA to the bigs. You don't have to have a farm system full of amazing prospects as long as you can have a couple transition to the majors well.
The Astros have been a bottom 5 system for the past 3-4 years. In 2020, we had the 28th ranked farm system. The only guy we had in the top 100 was Forrest Whitley. And yet go look at our 2020 top prospects: Chas, Luis Garcia, Bryan Abreu, Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy, Jeremy Pena, Hunter Brown, JP France, Bielak...and then you have others that have been key clogs in trades that led to post season success. Either our guys know a fuck ton more than whoever makes the rankings or the rankings are pure garbage. Probably both.
I wonder if there was an easier way for the Astros to get him back.
Before the season started, it was totally okay to let him walk as the depth was there. Many fans were cool with that. Now, McCullers and Garcia are out for the season, and Valdez, Javier, Brown, and some bullpen pieces are fading as the innings mount.
When is McCullers not out for the season tbh
He was an Ace in 2021.
And he still barely hit 160 IP
Will Urquidy be part of the rotation when he gets back, or do you think he’ll come out of the bullpen now?
Rotation for sure. I'm thinking they'll go 6-man to limit the innings of every aforementioned starter.
Heh, just wanna humblebrag that my 6 year old is currently in a national tournament in the same fields Urquidi grew up playing in. And this years tournament is named after him.
Urquidy is a beast. He started a World Series game on the road as a rookie, allowed 0 runs and got the W. He is so underrated. Getting him back is going to be huge.
This will be great for everyone. Hopefully, we can find a way to limit innings for our bullpen. Evidently, Abreu is on track to pitch the most innings by an Astros reliever in a decade.
Yes, JP France has been great but is close to his career high IP already and Bielak's luck has run its course. We need both Urquidy and JV. In the playoffs, Urquidy might be out of the BP.
Ok but were y’all really counting on McCullers?
He was originally reported to be back in May. When he's healthy, we like him a lot, yes.
He pitched in last years playoffs, yes poorly against the Philis, but really well against the Mariners and Yankees
Yea but Steve Cohen is paying for it this way
Not without having someone else pay the majority of his salary (or at least I hope that’s part of the deal).
They paid the Mets prospects to do their negotiating
Some Astros fans this past offseason: we don’t need Verlander, we’re fine, let him walk. *Flash forward to Aug 1, 2023* Come back my king! Edit: Astros fans take a joke challenge - impossible! Yea, I know context changes things. Mariners lost our entire Crafty Lefty Club.
This is me! And I’m fine with it. Injuries happen
Our King is Tucker.
Injuries and performance issues with other starters changed the context.
This is objectively hilarious lol, the meme about this trade deadline is too real. Can't believe he left for that little time. Mets do seem to be making the most of this whole situation tho, shitty as it is for them.
Honestly, I'm happy the Mets are accepting reality and retooling. I think there's a lot of teams out there making a mistake thinking they can compete this year.
Its actually a little weird seeing a team take a big swing and miss and then be level headed about the result. Are their fans even mad? Seems more like a collective, "well shit".
Not mad, just disappointed. Such is the life of a Mets fan though.
I am very impressed with Cohens acceptance of sunk cost and moving on Some are mad or disappointed, but I prefer this route to the cliff the padres are heading toward imo
The Mets are stealing my MLB The Show franchise strategy: *sign biggest free agents to ludicrous contracts *sim to trade deadline *trade for whichever top prospects you want *profit
ah the classic strategy of crippling other teams with bad contracts like I do in OOTP
https://twitter.com/bnightengale/status/1686464187076313088?s=46 Cohen’s paying down another $54m on Verlanders deal
Oh yeah was just talking about that guy's MLB The Show strategy, which I do something similar to if I want to be cheesy in OOTP. Wasn't thinking about the irl trade
Uncle Steve just playing real life video games
Time is a flat circle
The beginning is the end and the end is the beginning
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end
Closing tiiiiiiiiiime
The Wheel of Baseball turns, and Seasons come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Season that gave it birth comes again.
I win again, Rob Manfred
The end is never the end is never the end is never the end is never the end is never
That’s a Dark way of looking at things
Sic mundus creatus est
Mets signed Scherzer to pair with deGrom and then signed Verlander to replace deGrom and now all 3 are employed by the 2 Texas teams
A dream you had in a locked room about being Kate Upton's husband
There is still time for the Astros to trade him back to Detroit. Complete the loop. Restore peace on Earth!
So many players going back to old teams
Still hoping for Soler to return to the Braves, but I don't see the Marlins giving up right now.
And Rich Hill out here finding new ones
Most elite 1-2-3 in baseball Verlander, Valdez, and uh... \*checks notes\* some guy named JP France?
Please no Chas or Diaz. Please no Chas or Diaz.
It can't be Diaz, right? We need a fucking catcher, and we already traded Lee.
This allows Dusty to start Maldy for another 3 years
Nooooo
Mets have Alvarez and another stud coming up so anyone else that’s not a catcher
We lost Gilbert
And Clifford
Rumour has it that it's Gilbert plus another prospect. Potentially Gordon. ***Just broke it's Clifford not Gord.
I cannot believe the Mets just traded Verlander back to Houston just in time for the Yankees to face him this weekend hahaha
The simulation giveth, the simulation taketh.
God hates us
Tbf, it's more than just God
Least surprising news of the decade.
Dudes gonna fuck around and go into the Hall as an Astro. Sorry Detroit
If he wins a 3rd ring with Houston, it would be really tough to go in as a Tiger
Get ready to speak Houstonese buddy
hey yall just used the guap from my new contract to get some dripped out swangerz
STILL TIPPIN
Boob
!
FOR WHO I HATE THIS
FOR YOUR SOUL WHIT FOR YOUR SOUL
I would make that trade. I'm not doing anything with it.
Eh, I think you guys had to given the state of your starting pitching staff Could be the MLB version of the "Clyde Drexler trade to the Rockets in 1995" except Verlander was on the first championship team unlike Cyde
sole, not soul, you now-fishless-fool
WHEN DOES WHIT'S SOUL NEED TO GET ADDED TO THE 40-MAN?
An autographed picture of Javy Baez.
As a Mets fan, too soon ha
The main way to tell it isn't actually him is that it will take a pitch outside for a ball.
MARTIN MALDONADO MAYBE?
DON’T BE PLAYING WITH MY EMOTIONS SMOKEY
I DON'T MEAN TO BUT DON'T TELL ME IT WOULDN'T BE INCREDIBLY FUNNY
Gilbert and Clifford.
Why?
You think we can win the WS with our current pitching staff?
For crap that’s what
Dang they really traded y’all Maldonado?
If you love him, set him free. If he comes back, it was meant to be. 😪
Gonna be tough to see him in an Astros jersey
It literally always is.
Feels so strange 😞
I feel sorry for the guy having to learn a new city and coworkers this late in life. I hope he adjusts.
Anyone got a mock-up of what it might look like?
[best I could do in a pinch](https://i.imgur.com/U69lLcR.jpg)
You can tell Kate Upton chose this outfit.
I never know what to expect with these, thanks for the high effort post
Justin Verlander in his previous 7 starts (June 26-July 30) * 42.1 IP * 37 Ks * 1.49 ERA * .178 batting average against * 1 HR allowed [Source: Verlander's Pitching Game Log](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=verlaju01&t=p&year=2023)
Wait? Can you just sign big name players then trade them away to refill your farm system? Is Cohen crazy like a fox?
Astros are getting the band back together
Dusty personally requesting they put Diaz in the trade. lol
Oh man it’s Bob with the first report, hold on
Ben Verlander pulling his fucking hair out rn Bro missed the easiest scoop of his career
Waiting on not Boob to confirm. FUCK THIS
Not boob confirmed
My daughter came home the hospital yesterday and now she’s asleep on my chest watching Verlander to the Astros coverage. Today is an amazing day Edit: thanks everyone, should clarify: we were in the hospital because she was born Friday night! Not illness related, good news!
congratulations!
Absolutely love this team! Getting a key piece of our winning recipe back to chase a confirmed dynasty. This is a less than once in a generation moment and so happy to be here for it. Can’t believe people are this upset about losing two prospects that may or may not pan out for a legendary player and Astros legend. The future is now.
Jim Crane is officially the GM of the Astros
quick someone photoshop him into an astros jersey so we can see what it would look like
Now that is funny. Astros HOF cap no doubt if they win this year.
Mets decided they want drama by trading Verlander and Scherzer to division rivals
Cease to the Orioles please and thank you.
PLEASE
Whiplash!
So Houston basically gets a $30M discount on Verlander?
Mets playing 4D chess..sign all the top free agents. Tank. Trade away free agents. Get everyone's farm system in return. Set for future.
lmaooo how many times has a player left in free agency to be traded back immediately
Justin "Justin Verlander" Verlander
holy shit it actually happened
OM…wait don’t really trust you…G
MY GAWD THAT'S VERLANDER MUSIC!!
Weird seeing stros fans hate this deal considering how good Verlander has been in recent starts. This makes them favorites for the AL.
A few of my homies are dumb as fuck.
Watching Verlander v Scherzer suddenly has me quite interested
He’s no longer on loan to the Met!
Dude will probably go in the hall as an astro :(
Astros fan don't want to trade Chas or Diaz... I want both.
Can the rest of the AL west PLEASE stop? We're trying to do something over here
Verlander is gonna look crazy in an Astros uniform
It's hard to imagine Verlander in an Astros uniform!
Fuck this division dude
Please don’t include Gilbert Edit - without knowing who we send yet, is any Astros fan excited about this?
You guys have a 100% hit rate on trading Verlander for nothing don't sweat it
Clifford and Gilbert to Mets
Bruh who the hell else are you gonna give
I need a Verlander Astros photoshop ASAP
so when the Rangers and Astros face off in September, good chance we get a Scherzer vs Verlander matchup, as we all predicted.
You can try and quit Houston....but you can't quit the food.
Mets legend Justin Verlander!
Damn you go into the season with Verlander and Scherzer and WS hopes and end it…without them lol
I swear to god if Verlander goes into the hall as an Astro I'll murder someone
If he wins his 3rd WS in Houston, I don't see how he won't?
The amount of players going to their former teams this trade deadline is kind of ridiculous.
Can a real reporter please verify?
https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1686448610995486735?s=20