Astros land Verlander from Tigers in late-night blockbuster
Despite previous reports to the contrary, the Houston Astros acquired pitcher Justin Verlander from the Detroit Tigers late Thursday.
In exchange for the former AL Cy Young and MVP winner, the Tigers will receive outfielder Daz Cameron, pitcher Franklin Perez, and catcher Jake Rogers. All three were listed among the Astros' top 11 prospects, according to MLB.com.
Detroit will also send Houston either a player to be named later or cash considerations.
The Astros will receive $16 million to cover the $56 million remaining on Verlander's contract, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
Verlander, who's spent his entire 13-year career with the Tigers, waived his full no-trade rights as a 10-and-5 player to make the deal happen. In exchange for waiving his 10-and-5 rights, Houston added a full no-trade clause to Verlander's contract while waiving his $22-million vesting option in 2020, USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported. Those moves guarantee Verlander will hit free agency for the first time after the 2019 season.
The 34-year-old right-hander joins an Astros rotation that already boasts lefty Dallas Keuchel and should soon welcome back electric righty Lance McCullers.
Verlander hasn't had his best season, going 10-8 with a 3.82 ERA and 1.28 WHIP over 28 starts. He has, however, been the better version of himself since the end of May, posting a 3.24 ERA with 118 strikeouts in 111 innings.
The Astros aren't merely renting, either as Verlander is under contract through 2019.