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Hi everybody, this is KPRC 2 Sports Director Randy McIlvoy checking in with this week’s Astros newsletter! Hope everyone is still celebrating the 2022 World Champions!
It’s offseason time and things will not slow down for the club, because off the field it is all about building for 2023 and getting this roster settled and that starts with free agency.
The Astros are set to bring back their entire bullpen as they got a deal done with reliever Rafael Montero who got a 3-year contract worth $34.5 million. To me, they overpaid and could have used some of that money elsewhere.
Montero had a career year, but a look at his history leaves you to question, will it happen again with Montero who is 32 years old? We’ll find out, because he is locked in now.
Still to come are decisions as well on guys like Michael Brantley and Yuli Gurriel. Brantley is coming off shoulder surgery, and the team will know more when spring training begins. Gurriel, who is 38, is coming off a disappointing regular season but found himself in the postseason where he hit over .330 in the playoffs and looked like the Gurriel that won the AL batting title in 2021.
Great news this past week came when Justin Verlander won the AL Cy Young award and won it in unanimous fashion taking all 20 first place votes. Verlander was awesome in 2022 going 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA, perhaps the best season he’s had in his Hall of Fame career. This was his third Cy Young Award making him only the eleventh player in history to earn three. In addition to 2022, he won it in 2011 with the Tigers and in 2019 with the Astros.
He’s now a free agent though and owner Jim Crane will do his best to make an offer that Verlander will accept. My take is that Verlander will be elsewhere in 2023. Look out for L.A. or New York as a landing spot. I believe he will get the deal or close to the deal he wants which is Max Scherzer type money. Three years, $130 million. That’s too much for Crane and the Astros, but maybe Crane can get Verlander to agree to a 1 or 2-year agreement? JV wants to win and also get to 300 career wins, and he needs to be on a contender. What better place than Houston, right?
We’ll keep you updated on all things Astros during the months ahead! Spring training opens in February!
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