We’re officially one week away from the MLB trade deadline, and you know what that means. Rumors are about to get awfully wild and we need to take everything that’s seen or heard with a grain of salt. The following rumor involving the Mets, Astros, and Justin Verlander doesn’t feel real, but there’s no way I can’t at least talk about it after seeing it.
I mean, what if there’s some level of truth to it? You never know.
JV is getting set to open up the second edition of the Subway Series Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium against Domingo German. We’ve already heard that the San Francisco Giants are keeping tabs on the three-time Cy Young Award winner. But could he be heading back to the Astros?
That’s what this tweet tells us:
I have heard that the Astros have agreed to a deal to acquire Verlander from the Mets. I know nothing of details, just that. Again, guy that told me has been right before. This was him last year 👇. If any other MLB teams get a whim of this, I’m just a nobody. Know this. pic.twitter.com/1eirMAHYlW
— Bonda (@BenOndaTop) July 24, 2023
This feels a little too random, no? And, yea — call me a little jaded after we’ve had so many Ronny Mauricio promotion rumors get shot down this year.
Verlander did just say last week that he’s committed to the Mets. He also has a full no-trade clause in the massive two-year deal he signed this past winter. However, it doesn’t take a ton of mental gymnastics to think he’d be comfortable waiving it for this.
The Mets didn’t have to seriously compete with the Astros for JV in free agency because team owner Jim Crane didn’t want to pay him that much. It sounds silly to turn around and give up players to re-acquire him months later. If the Mets toss in a bunch of money to offset the financial cost this year and next, though, it seems less silly.
But of course, we heard rumors to the contrary from Jon Heyman of the New York Post on Monday. Verlander and Max Scherzer will see their name thrown around the rumor mill. However, it doesn’t sound like New York has done what’s necessary to have a deal like this in place:
Anyway, Max Scherzer’s agent Scott Boras said the Mets haven’t yet inquired about Scherzer’s willingness to accept a trade, and didn’t sound like he expected them to, and Justin Verlander said a few days ago he hadn’t been approached either (He politely declined to discuss it Sunday after generously providing much time on the subject during the week).
In that interview with The Post, Verlander certainly didn’t sound like a man who wants out.
“I enjoy it here. I want to be here,” Verlander told The Post. “I’m a New York Met. I signed here to win a championship here. I want to leave a legacy here. That’s why I signed up here. Until that’s put on my plate, if it’s ever put on my plate, I don’t think about that stuff.”
SNY’s Andy Martino also shared a separate report stating that the Mets were not yet open for business as a seller:
Between now and Aug. 1, Mets GM Billy Eppler and owner Steve Cohen must weigh the returns for their players and decide if those returns are worth spiraling into a 90-plus loss, post-fire sale season.
This is one of those classic scenarios where if this rumor actually ends up being true, the above tweet (or whatever it’s being called now) will be legendary. If this doesn’t happen — which feels like the more likely scenario — all will be forgotten in about 10 minutes.
It’s hard to put a lot of stock into a JV-back-to-the-Astros rumor, for all the obvious reasons. But it’s not the most outrageous thing in the world to think about. So I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
