The Astros didn’t have to do any cheating last week to beat the Yankees again.
This time Houston prevailed with some fair-and-square stealing prevention that kept two-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander from jumping ship in his return season from Tommy John surgery.
As of last Thursday, Verlander is back with the Astros on a one-year, $25-million deal that includes a $25-million player option for 2023.
According to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman, the Yankees made the same one-year, $25-million offer to Verlander, but wouldn’t match the $25 million player option.
Remember this the next time you hear Yankees GM Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner say the organization goes all out to win.
This is not going all out.
What this probably came down to for the Yankees is they were comfortable paying Verlander $25 million next season when he’s 39 but not another $25 million in 2023 when he’s 40.
The Yankees better not be wrong on Verlander like they were in 2017.
When the Tigers were shopping their ace of 12 seasons that summer, the Yankees passed due to luxury-tax concerns and Verlander ended up going to Houston. That October, the Astros needed Verlander’s one run in 16 innings as much as their illegal sign stealing to oust the Yankees in a seven-game ALCS.
Two years later, the Yankees lost to the Astros again in the 2019 ALCS, this time with Houston’s rotation headed by two 20-game winners who would finish 1-2 in the American League Cy Young voting, Verlander and new sidekick Gerrit Cole.
That winter the Yankees tried swaying the balance of power in the AL by signing Cole for $324 million, but it hasn’t worked out so far. The Yankees still haven’t been to the World Series since 2009 and Houston returned this year in spite of Verlander missing the whole season.
Reuniting Verlander and Cole would have been an interesting hand for the Yankees to play. Instead, the richest team in baseball let the Astros keep their trump card to save 20 million bucks.
Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com.
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