Right-hander Justin Verlander met with reporters Sunday and explained his decision to waive his no-trade clause to go from the Tigers to the Astros in a stunning Aug. 31 trade. Given that Verlander had been in the Detroit organization since it drafted him second overall in 2004 and evolved into a Tigers icon, it was understandably difficult for him to leave. “At one point I was kind of pacing back and forth in my living room — it was just [fiancée] Kate [Upton] and I — and I’m going, ’Trust your instincts, trust your instincts. What are your instincts telling you?'” Verlander said (via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). “I was just so caught in between with emotion and excitement of a new ballclub, and ultimately, it came down to winning and joining an organization that’s set up to win for a long time.”
For the teams involved, the Verlander deal was a tough one to work out, as Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press details in a fascinating piece. The Tigers rejected multiple proposals from the Astros on Thursday, when the trade ultimately went down late at night, and it looked as if the sides would table talks until the offseason. The clubs finally agreed on a return, and Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow called Tigers GM Al Avila around 11:30 p.m. ET to inform him that Houston would pick up $16MM of the remaining $58MM left on Verlander’s contract. Then, the Tigers dispatched two baseball operations officials to Verlander’s house so he’d provide a signature agreeing to waive his no-trade rights. Verlander did, of course, but he initially had reservations about going to the Astros. While Fenech reports that the 34-year-old never rejected a trade to Houston, he had concerns about shifting to their ballpark. Discussions with Astros owner Jim Crane and manager A.J. Hinch did enough to assuage Verlander, however, and the longtime ace then called Avila to inform him he’d accept the trade, paving the way for a blockbuster that came in barely before the 11:59 p.m. ET waiver deadline.
More from around the game:
- It doesn’t appear that the Marlins’ low-spending ways will change when their new ownership group takes over, but their fate would have been different had local businessman Jorge Mas purchased the team, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. Unlike owners-to-be Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter, Mas would not have planned to slash payroll had he put forth the winning bid for the franchise. Mas finished as the runner-up to Sherman and Jeter, who are at the helm of a faction that agreed last month to buy the Marlins from Jeffrey Loria for $1.2 billion.
- Not long ago, it looked as though the Angels were going to continue wasting Mike Trout’s presence, but both the present and near future suddenly look bright in Anaheim, Joel Sherman of the New York Post observes. Having traded for all-world shortstop Andrelton Simmons and big-hitting left fielder Justin Upton during his two-year run as the Angels’ general manager, Billy Eppler has given Trout a pair of quality position player complements who, like the center fielder, are under contract through 2020, Sherman notes (though Upton may well opt out after the season). The Angels could add to that group with a free agent like Eric Hosmer or Mike Moustakas during the offseason, writes Sherman, who also names Alex Cobb as a potential offseason target for their rotation. Additionally, Sherman lauds Eppler for improving a farm system that was nearly barren upon his arrival. Regardless of whether the playoff-contending Angels qualify for the postseason in 2017, then, they’re beginning to look like a team that could capitalize on having Trout before his contract expires.
- The Dodgers plan to recall outfielder Joc Pederson sometime this season, manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, on Sunday (Twitter link). “I would expect Joc back. Nothing is set in stone,” Roberts said of Pederson, whom the Dodgers optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque on Aug. 19. The 25-year-old has batted a shockingly poor .158/.222/.281 in 63 minor league plate appearances, continuing a disappointing sseason that has seen him hit .215/.329/.418 in 295 PAs with the Dodgers. P ederson’s major league line this year has been average, not bad, but it still represents a clear drop-off from his production during the prior two seasons.
Teams must have a lot of leeway with these deadline deals, because I guarantee that half of these trades were not officially completed before midnight. Like if Astros didn’t send someone to verlanders house until 11:30 pm I don’t get how they drove there, convinced him, collected a signature and submitted the formal request all in 30 minutes.
They have to agree to the deal and submit it to MLB by the deadline. It doesn’t have to be offical before the deadline.
But that’s what I’m saying. How can they submit it to MLB without a concrete agreement by both teams and an agreement from Verlander?
The article says that at 11:30 pm they were still negotiating the money changing sides.
It takes three seconds to hit send and submit a trade because, you know, technology.
But they had to get Verlander’s okay first…
I don’t think it’s as hard as you might think. I can’t say for sure exactly how it works but I know electronic signatures are common and legally binding in the law. A Home contract can be signed electronically and it’s a legally binding contract
Miami media likes to fuel the fire of fans negativoty towards the Marlins. A lot of fans wanted Mas. I personally don’t believe this report is true. He would have had to go out there and spend like 50 million more on SPs, and then you still have Ozunas FA in a couple of years to worry about, as well as no depth, and no farm system to speak of. It would have made no sense
The problem with the Marlins hasn’t been Loria not spending, it’s been Loria blowing tons of money for nothing and then having a fire sale every other year. Of course the guy that didn’t win the bidding is going to say he’d do things totally differently.
What they need right now is a legitimate rebuild, not another Loria binge-purge.
Angels
Giancarlo Stanton
What will the angels give them? The entire farm system is just a little on the light side.
Ummm…no.
Unless Upton opts out, the Angels aren’t taking Stanton’s contract. AND providing the sort of talent a sell-high deal like that would require would be a high bar. It would be great to have that HoF-bound bat in the lineup, but the team’s need to align as well.
They have literally nothing to offer, keep dreaming.
Actually the Angels have two very good outfield prospects and no reason they need to give up more than one if they take Stanton’s contract.
The Angels have enough money to spend this offseason to take on his contract in full. And in order to do that, they could wrap a package around Kole Calhoun. With Eric Hosmer as a target, they could include CJ Cron in that deal. A Stanton trade to the Angels would be less about prospects and more about dealing young cost controlled major leaguers that can help the Marlins now as well as in the future. That’s the other side of trading for big names when you have a ton of money to spend.
Houston picked up $ 16 million of Verlander’s salary? Or Detroit picked up $ 16 million- $ 8 million per year of the $ 28 million salary the next two year?
Article is wrong and you’re correct. Detroit is responsible for just $16M with Houston paying the rest
I was wondering about that. Why would Detroit do that deal then…
Because that prospect return was too good to pass up
Details on the Verlander trade is way off.
Detroit is picking up 8 of the 28 million for the next 2 years. JV also agreed to have his 2020 contract option voided.
Joc didn’t go to ABQ, that is the AAA of the Rockies, he went to OKC. When he was down in the Springs playing the Sox, his attitude was horrid, swing was horrible and he went swinging after horrible pitches. Who proofs this stuff?
Doesn’t Matter , Joc is overrated !
Can you say Dominic Brown , one month for both got them on All-Star Teams
Joc has been worth 3 fwar/600 pa Dominic Brown was a negative war player. Please do research before posting stupid nonsense. It’s really not that hard.
Which only goes to show the usefulness of WAR in the real game of baseball.
Easy for Mas to say how he would have spent his dollars on the Marlins payroll when he isn’t the owner. Why would someone even ask him that question? All speculation. As far as the Angels are concerned; pitching is the key to success in any league. They just traded for offense and almost got swept in Texas after scoring nearly 30 runs during the series. Unless someone feels Joc can help the club defensively or on the bases during the post season, the Dodgers need to let Joc watch the rest of the Dodgers games at home on his TV. Make a stinking adjustment!