*Photo from MLive.com*
Blockbusters are on the move now. The Houston Astros have acquired RHP Justin Verlander and cash considerations from the New York Mets in exchange for outfielders Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The trade has been confirmed.
Leaving the Astros in the offseason to sign with the Mets for $86.6 million over two years, Verlander is now on his way back to Houston, under contract for both this year and 2024. He also has a $35 million vesting option for 2025 that becomes a player option should Verlander hit 140 innings pitched in 2024.
Missing time with an injury to start the season and struggling, Verlander has bounced back and is still having a solid year at the top of the Mets rotation. He has a 3.15 ERA, 3.81 FIP, and 1.145 WHIP over 94 1/3 innings, averaging 7.7 strikeouts per 9 innings and 3 walks per 9 in 16 starts.
Verlander has a no trade clause in his contract that he agreed to waive for the trade to go through. In his last 7 starts, Verlander has a 1.49 ERA to bring his season total down to 3.15 ahead of the trade deadline. He won World Series titles with the Astros in both 2017 and 2022.
In 18 big league seasons, Verlander has pitched for the Astros, Mets, and Detroit Tigers. He has a lifetime 250-138 record with a 1.118 WHIP, 3.24 ERA, and 3.37 FIP, averaging less than a homer per 9 innings and 9.1 strikeouts per 9 over 3,257 1/3 innings and 498 games, all starts. He has a 3.64 ERA and 1.112 WHIP in 35 playoff games, throwing 207 2/3 innings.
Coming back to the Mets in return is Gilbert and Clifford, who both rank in the top 5 of the Astros prospects list by MLB Pipeline. Gilbert is the top ranked prospect, while Clifford is ranked 4th. Gilbert is currently 22, with Clifford at 20 years old.
Chosen in the first round of the 2022 draft by the Astros, Gilbert is having a strong season. Combined between High A Asheville and Double A Corpus Christi, Gilbert has a .274/.363/.458 slash line, hitting 12 home runs with 19 doubles, one triple, and 38 RBI's in 81 games.
A 11th round pick in 2022 by the Astros, Clifford is also having a strong first full pro season. Between Low A Fayetteville and High A Asheville, he has a .291/.399/.520 slash line, adding 16 doubles, 18 home runs, and 61 RBI's over 83 games.
Leading up to the deadline, the Mets traded both David Robertson and Max Scherzer to the Miami Marlins and Texas Rangers respectively, and now Verlander is out the door on deadline day.
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