The Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander will have two rehab starts in Triple-A before returning from the Injured List. The news was confirmed by Astros manager Joe Espada in a recent chat with reporters.

Verlander started the 2024 MLB season on IL due to a shoulder inflammation he experienced leading to spring training. He is now fully recovered and will have the opportunity to build up his pitch count with Astros’ Triple-A affiliate Sugar Land.

Verlander’s first start with Sugar Land will come on Saturday, and if that goes well, he will have one more outing in the minors before resuming MLB action.

“Just based on what I’ve seen and out of his live BPs and how he’s talking about how he feels, I think two starts,” said Espada of Verlander’s timeline for coming off the IL. “Should be good enough.”

The Astros badly need Verlnader back considering their poor start of the season. They were swept in the opening series against the New York Yankees and are currently sitting at 2-5.

Justin Verlander initially left the Houston Astros during the 2023 offseason to sign a lucrative deal with the New York Mets. However, he only made 16 starts with the Mets before being traded back to Houston.

 The three-time AL Cy Young Award winner ended up making 11 starts with the Astros to close out the season, going 7-3 with a 3.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts.

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The Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander won’t start his spring training on expected schedule. According to Verlander, he is dealing with a shoulder issue that will force him to start his preparation for the 2024 campaign later than expected.

“I’m a little bit behind schedule right now,” Verlander told ESPN. “I had a little hiccup early on that’s resolved itself, but I have to be really cautious with how I’m building up.

According to Verlander, he experienced a shoulder issue while playing catch.

“I’ve always been someone who luckily could pick up a ball and just start throwing it,” he explained. “This time, it wasn’t quite as easy, so I had to slow down a little bit.”

It is unclear whether Verlander will be ready in time to pitch on the Opening Day. The Astros will open their spring training on February 28 and play their first game of the season against the New York Yankees on March 28.

Justin Verlander missed the start of the 2023 season with a shoulder injury. He played in 27 games with the Astros and the Yankees, finishing the campaign with a 13-8 record, 3.22 ERA, and 144 strikeouts. He previously sat out the entire 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

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The Houston Astros made a big splash on Friday by signing All-Star closer Josh Hader to a five-year deal. Hader was considered one of the top remaining players on the free agent market.

Reportedly, Hader will receive an annual salary of $19 million, bringing the value of the deal to $95 million. His contract has a full no-trade close and doesn’t contain any deferrals, opt-outs, or team options.

Hader’s deal is the second-richest given to a closer and trails only the five-year, $102 million contract that Edwin Diaz received from the New York Mets. However, Diaz’s deal comes with $26.5 million in deferred money, and he’ll have to wait until 2042 to receive all of his money.

Hader spent the 2023 season with the San Diego Padres, posting a 1.28 ERA with a 2-3 record, 33 saves, and 85 strikeouts. The 29-year-old player made the All-MLB First Team and earned his fifth All-Star nod.

The Astros had to change their approach to free agency in order to acquire Hader. Since Jim Crane acquired the franchise in 2011, the Astros never gave a free agent a contract longer than four years or richer than $58.5 million.

However, it might be well worth it for the Houston team. With Hader joining talented set-up man Bryan Abreu and two-time All-Star reliever Ryan Pressly, the Astros might well have the best bullpen in baseball.

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The Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker announced his retirement on Wednesday, bringing an end to his 26-year career as a manager in the majors. The highlight of his career came when he led the Astros to the World Series title last season.

“I’m very grateful and thankful to Jim Crane and the Houston Astros for giving me this opportunity, and to win a championship,” the 74-year-old player stated in an interview with USA Today. “I felt like they’ve been good for me, and I’ve been good for them. What I really appreciate is that Jim has been totally honest and transparent with me on all things.”

Baker’s decision comes after the Astros lost to the Texas Rangers in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. He is scheduled to speak publicly on his retirement decision in a press conference on Thursday. Houston shortstop Jeremy Pena called Baker “a legend in the sport,” paying testament to his many contributions over the course of his career.

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The Houston Astros are taking a cautious approach in managing star Jose Altuve’s oblique injury. Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Houston’s general manager Dana Brown said that the team wouldn’t rush Altuve’s return to action.

Altuve experienced issues with his oblique during Tuesday’s batting practice. The team decided to sit him out as a precautionary measure and will decide how to progress after getting test results on the injury.

According to Brown, the team doesn’t expect the injury to be a major one, but they intend to give Altuve enough time to recover.

“I don’t think there’s any rush to bring him back,” Brown said on Wednesday. “I’ve talked about this before with the obliques of some of the other players. These injuries are really complicated, and so sometimes the best thing is rest.”

Jose Altuve was limited to only 32 games this season due to a combination of injuries. He is batting .264, his career-worst aside from the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, and has six homers and 18 RBIs.

Despite Altuve’s limited impact in 2023, he is still a leader in the clubhouse and an important player for the Astros. It makes sense for the team to minimize the risk of bigger injury and ensure he is ready to help them during the final stretch of the season.

The Astros are currently second in AL West with a 49-38 record and 2.5 games behind the leading Texas Rangers.

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The Houston Astros have gone above and beyond to secure the services of their star designated hitter Yordan Álvarez for years to come. According to multiple reports, the Astros handed out a six-year extension to Álvarez that will pay him $115 million.

If the numbers are correct, then the contract represents the biggest in MLB history for a player that plays DH as his main position. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the new deal kicks in next season and buys out three years of Álvarez’s free agency.

Álvarez made his debut for the Astros in 2019 and immediately showed he was a special player by earning All-MLB Second Team and AL Rookie of the Year honors. He was limited to just two games in 2020 after undergoing knee surgery but followed that up with a breakthrough campaign last year.

The Las Tunas, Cuba-native batted .277 for Astros in 2021 while having team-leading 33 home runs and 104 RBIs. He was even more productive in the postseason and ended up winning the ALCS MVP award after hitting .522 in the Boston Red Sox series.

Álvarez had a strong start in 2022 as well, currently hitting .272. The 24-year-old player also has 14 homers, which is third-most in the majors, and 31 RBIs in 41 games.

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The Houston Astros lost their Monday’s clash against the Boston Red Sox, but that wasn’t their biggest concern the morning after. Instead, the Astros were probably more worried about their righty Jake Odorizzi, who suffered a leg injury during the game and had to be carted off the field.

Odorizzi, making his seventh start of the 2022 season, was injured in the fifth inning. The 32-year-old player was trying to cover the first base following a ground ball hit but took only a few steps before collapsing on the pitch with a painful look on his face. Since he couldn’t walk off the field alone, the stretchers had to be called in. 

Despite the scary-looking scene, the Astros believe Odorizzi managed to avoid a major injury. The team described it as “lower leg discomfort” and said that the veteran is set to undergo an MRI for further evaluation.

“He’s probably doing better than it looked like on the mound,” Houston’s manager Dusty Baker told reporters after the game.

Jake Odorizzi is currently playing his second season with the Astros. He has a 3-2 record with a 3.13 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 2022. Odorizzi, who has one All-Star appearance on his resume, previously also played with the Kansas City Royals, the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Minnesota Twins. 

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The Houston Astros came to an agreement to keep their ace Justin Verlander around for at least one year. The news was first reported by FOX’s reporter and Verlander’s brother Ben Verlander.

Reportedly, the agreement will see the eight-time All-Star earn $25 million in 2022. The deal also has a player option for 2023.

After delivering an impressive 2019 campaign that saw him win his second AL Cy Young Award, Justin Verlander ended up playing just one game in the shortened 2020 MLB season due to a forearm strain. He ended up having to undergo a Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2021.

Entering the offseason as a free agent, Verlander recently organized a showcase for interested teams in order to demonstrate that the procedure and long break didn’t affect his pitching. It was reported at the time that 20 teams were in attendance, with most of them leaving impressed with what they saw from the 38-year-old.

Verlander joined the Astros midway through the 2017 season in a trade from the Detroit Tigers. He ended up becoming a key factor in Houston’s road to World Series win in the same year, picking up ALCS MVP honors along the way. He followed this up with two productive outings in 2018 and 2019, earning consecutive All-Star nods, finishing second and first in AL Cy Young Award voting, and picking up an All-MLB First Team nod.

Verlander, who had his MLB debut in 2005, is currently 226–129 in the majors. He has a career ERA of 3.33 with 3,013 strikeouts.

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The Houston Astros believe their manager Dusty Baker has some unfinished business after a tough 2021 World Series loss earlier this week. This is why the franchise decided to give him a new one-year deal and have the 72-year-old back in the dugout for 2022.

The Astros confirmed the news on their social media on Friday.

In a team-released statement, the team’s owner Jim Crane said that the franchise is “very, very excited” to have Baker back.

“He’s done a great job this last year,” Crane added. “Great in the locker room, great with the fans, great with the media.”

Baker took over as the Astros manager ahead of the shortened 2020 MLB season after AJ Hinch was fired for his role in the team’s notorious sign-stealing scandal. He was hired in part due to his ability to provide steady leadership, and he delivered in that regard while also having Houston playing some great baseball.

This was especially the case in 2021 when the Astros blitzed to the AL West title and then cruised to a World Series appearance. Still, they couldn’t make the final step and ended up losing to the Atlanta Braves in six games.

“Looking forward to being part of this organization and this city,” Baker said in a statement. “I have some tremendous ties here and have some unfinished business to take care of. But we’re close. We’re getting better and better every year.”

Dusty Baker previously also managed the San Francisco Giants, the Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago Cubs, and the Washington Nationals. He was honored with the NL Manager of the Year award three times, while his 1,987 career wins currently rank at number 12 for most in MLB history.

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The Atlanta Braves couldn’t close out the World Series in front of their home crowd, but that didn’t affect their ability to take care of business in Game 6. The Braves routed the Houston Astros with a dominant 7-0 outing on Tuesday night to claim their first title since 1995.

The Braves took the lead at the top of the third when outfielder Jorge Soler hit a three-run 446-foot homer. This was Soler’s third home run of the World Series and the one that probably clinched him the World Series MVP honors.

At the top of the fifth, the Braves added to their lead with yet another home run. This time it was shortstop Dansby Swanson who hit a 411 feet homer off the pitch by Houston’s reliever Cristian Javier.

First baseman Freddie Freeman then proceeded to close out the game for Atlanta. Freeman first doubled to deep left center and allowed Soler to score at the top of the fifth before hitting a 416-foot home run at the top of the seventh to set the final score of 7-0.

The Braves starter Max Fried also had a huge game, picking up six strikeouts in the first six innings. He also only allowed four singles while finishing the contest with a 4.09 ERA.

“We hit every pothole, every bump you could possibly hit this year, and somehow the car still made it onto the other side,” Freeman said after the game. “It’s just an incredible group.”

The fourth title was a long time coming for the Atlanta Braves. Since going all the way in 1995, the franchise returned to the postseason 16 times and made two unsuccessful World Series trips before finally breaking through in 2021.

The Astros, on the other hand, still only have one World Series title to show after making it to the finals three times in five years.

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The Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander will have two rehab starts in Triple-A before returning from the Injured List. The news was confirmed by Astros manager Joe Espada in a recent chat with reporters.

Verlander started the 2024 MLB season on IL due to a shoulder inflammation he experienced leading to spring training. He is now fully recovered and will have the opportunity to build up his pitch count with Astros’ Triple-A affiliate Sugar Land.

Verlander’s first start with Sugar Land will come on Saturday, and if that goes well, he will have one more outing in the minors before resuming MLB action.

“Just based on what I’ve seen and out of his live BPs and how he’s talking about how he feels, I think two starts,” said Espada of Verlander’s timeline for coming off the IL. “Should be good enough.”

The Astros badly need Verlnader back considering their poor start of the season. They were swept in the opening series against the New York Yankees and are currently sitting at 2-5.

Justin Verlander initially left the Houston Astros during the 2023 offseason to sign a lucrative deal with the New York Mets. However, he only made 16 starts with the Mets before being traded back to Houston.

 The three-time AL Cy Young Award winner ended up making 11 starts with the Astros to close out the season, going 7-3 with a 3.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts.

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The Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander won’t start his spring training on expected schedule. According to Verlander, he is dealing with a shoulder issue that will force him to start his preparation for the 2024 campaign later than expected.

“I’m a little bit behind schedule right now,” Verlander told ESPN. “I had a little hiccup early on that’s resolved itself, but I have to be really cautious with how I’m building up.

According to Verlander, he experienced a shoulder issue while playing catch.

“I’ve always been someone who luckily could pick up a ball and just start throwing it,” he explained. “This time, it wasn’t quite as easy, so I had to slow down a little bit.”

It is unclear whether Verlander will be ready in time to pitch on the Opening Day. The Astros will open their spring training on February 28 and play their first game of the season against the New York Yankees on March 28.

Justin Verlander missed the start of the 2023 season with a shoulder injury. He played in 27 games with the Astros and the Yankees, finishing the campaign with a 13-8 record, 3.22 ERA, and 144 strikeouts. He previously sat out the entire 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

The post Astros Ace Justin Verlander Says He’s a “Little Bit Behind” His Usual Training Schedule appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Houston Astros made a big splash on Friday by signing All-Star closer Josh Hader to a five-year deal. Hader was considered one of the top remaining players on the free agent market.

Reportedly, Hader will receive an annual salary of $19 million, bringing the value of the deal to $95 million. His contract has a full no-trade close and doesn’t contain any deferrals, opt-outs, or team options.

Hader’s deal is the second-richest given to a closer and trails only the five-year, $102 million contract that Edwin Diaz received from the New York Mets. However, Diaz’s deal comes with $26.5 million in deferred money, and he’ll have to wait until 2042 to receive all of his money.

Hader spent the 2023 season with the San Diego Padres, posting a 1.28 ERA with a 2-3 record, 33 saves, and 85 strikeouts. The 29-year-old player made the All-MLB First Team and earned his fifth All-Star nod.

The Astros had to change their approach to free agency in order to acquire Hader. Since Jim Crane acquired the franchise in 2011, the Astros never gave a free agent a contract longer than four years or richer than $58.5 million.

However, it might be well worth it for the Houston team. With Hader joining talented set-up man Bryan Abreu and two-time All-Star reliever Ryan Pressly, the Astros might well have the best bullpen in baseball.

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The Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker announced his retirement on Wednesday, bringing an end to his 26-year career as a manager in the majors. The highlight of his career came when he led the Astros to the World Series title last season.

“I’m very grateful and thankful to Jim Crane and the Houston Astros for giving me this opportunity, and to win a championship,” the 74-year-old player stated in an interview with USA Today. “I felt like they’ve been good for me, and I’ve been good for them. What I really appreciate is that Jim has been totally honest and transparent with me on all things.”

Baker’s decision comes after the Astros lost to the Texas Rangers in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. He is scheduled to speak publicly on his retirement decision in a press conference on Thursday. Houston shortstop Jeremy Pena called Baker “a legend in the sport,” paying testament to his many contributions over the course of his career.

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The Houston Astros are taking a cautious approach in managing star Jose Altuve’s oblique injury. Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Houston’s general manager Dana Brown said that the team wouldn’t rush Altuve’s return to action.

Altuve experienced issues with his oblique during Tuesday’s batting practice. The team decided to sit him out as a precautionary measure and will decide how to progress after getting test results on the injury.

According to Brown, the team doesn’t expect the injury to be a major one, but they intend to give Altuve enough time to recover.

“I don’t think there’s any rush to bring him back,” Brown said on Wednesday. “I’ve talked about this before with the obliques of some of the other players. These injuries are really complicated, and so sometimes the best thing is rest.”

Jose Altuve was limited to only 32 games this season due to a combination of injuries. He is batting .264, his career-worst aside from the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, and has six homers and 18 RBIs.

Despite Altuve’s limited impact in 2023, he is still a leader in the clubhouse and an important player for the Astros. It makes sense for the team to minimize the risk of bigger injury and ensure he is ready to help them during the final stretch of the season.

The Astros are currently second in AL West with a 49-38 record and 2.5 games behind the leading Texas Rangers.

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The Houston Astros have gone above and beyond to secure the services of their star designated hitter Yordan Álvarez for years to come. According to multiple reports, the Astros handed out a six-year extension to Álvarez that will pay him $115 million.

If the numbers are correct, then the contract represents the biggest in MLB history for a player that plays DH as his main position. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the new deal kicks in next season and buys out three years of Álvarez’s free agency.

Álvarez made his debut for the Astros in 2019 and immediately showed he was a special player by earning All-MLB Second Team and AL Rookie of the Year honors. He was limited to just two games in 2020 after undergoing knee surgery but followed that up with a breakthrough campaign last year.

The Las Tunas, Cuba-native batted .277 for Astros in 2021 while having team-leading 33 home runs and 104 RBIs. He was even more productive in the postseason and ended up winning the ALCS MVP award after hitting .522 in the Boston Red Sox series.

Álvarez had a strong start in 2022 as well, currently hitting .272. The 24-year-old player also has 14 homers, which is third-most in the majors, and 31 RBIs in 41 games.

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The Houston Astros lost their Monday’s clash against the Boston Red Sox, but that wasn’t their biggest concern the morning after. Instead, the Astros were probably more worried about their righty Jake Odorizzi, who suffered a leg injury during the game and had to be carted off the field.

Odorizzi, making his seventh start of the 2022 season, was injured in the fifth inning. The 32-year-old player was trying to cover the first base following a ground ball hit but took only a few steps before collapsing on the pitch with a painful look on his face. Since he couldn’t walk off the field alone, the stretchers had to be called in. 

Despite the scary-looking scene, the Astros believe Odorizzi managed to avoid a major injury. The team described it as “lower leg discomfort” and said that the veteran is set to undergo an MRI for further evaluation.

“He’s probably doing better than it looked like on the mound,” Houston’s manager Dusty Baker told reporters after the game.

Jake Odorizzi is currently playing his second season with the Astros. He has a 3-2 record with a 3.13 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 2022. Odorizzi, who has one All-Star appearance on his resume, previously also played with the Kansas City Royals, the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Minnesota Twins. 

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The Houston Astros came to an agreement to keep their ace Justin Verlander around for at least one year. The news was first reported by FOX’s reporter and Verlander’s brother Ben Verlander.

Reportedly, the agreement will see the eight-time All-Star earn $25 million in 2022. The deal also has a player option for 2023.

After delivering an impressive 2019 campaign that saw him win his second AL Cy Young Award, Justin Verlander ended up playing just one game in the shortened 2020 MLB season due to a forearm strain. He ended up having to undergo a Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2021.

Entering the offseason as a free agent, Verlander recently organized a showcase for interested teams in order to demonstrate that the procedure and long break didn’t affect his pitching. It was reported at the time that 20 teams were in attendance, with most of them leaving impressed with what they saw from the 38-year-old.

Verlander joined the Astros midway through the 2017 season in a trade from the Detroit Tigers. He ended up becoming a key factor in Houston’s road to World Series win in the same year, picking up ALCS MVP honors along the way. He followed this up with two productive outings in 2018 and 2019, earning consecutive All-Star nods, finishing second and first in AL Cy Young Award voting, and picking up an All-MLB First Team nod.

Verlander, who had his MLB debut in 2005, is currently 226–129 in the majors. He has a career ERA of 3.33 with 3,013 strikeouts.

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The Houston Astros believe their manager Dusty Baker has some unfinished business after a tough 2021 World Series loss earlier this week. This is why the franchise decided to give him a new one-year deal and have the 72-year-old back in the dugout for 2022.

The Astros confirmed the news on their social media on Friday.

In a team-released statement, the team’s owner Jim Crane said that the franchise is “very, very excited” to have Baker back.

“He’s done a great job this last year,” Crane added. “Great in the locker room, great with the fans, great with the media.”

Baker took over as the Astros manager ahead of the shortened 2020 MLB season after AJ Hinch was fired for his role in the team’s notorious sign-stealing scandal. He was hired in part due to his ability to provide steady leadership, and he delivered in that regard while also having Houston playing some great baseball.

This was especially the case in 2021 when the Astros blitzed to the AL West title and then cruised to a World Series appearance. Still, they couldn’t make the final step and ended up losing to the Atlanta Braves in six games.

“Looking forward to being part of this organization and this city,” Baker said in a statement. “I have some tremendous ties here and have some unfinished business to take care of. But we’re close. We’re getting better and better every year.”

Dusty Baker previously also managed the San Francisco Giants, the Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago Cubs, and the Washington Nationals. He was honored with the NL Manager of the Year award three times, while his 1,987 career wins currently rank at number 12 for most in MLB history.

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The Atlanta Braves couldn’t close out the World Series in front of their home crowd, but that didn’t affect their ability to take care of business in Game 6. The Braves routed the Houston Astros with a dominant 7-0 outing on Tuesday night to claim their first title since 1995.

The Braves took the lead at the top of the third when outfielder Jorge Soler hit a three-run 446-foot homer. This was Soler’s third home run of the World Series and the one that probably clinched him the World Series MVP honors.

At the top of the fifth, the Braves added to their lead with yet another home run. This time it was shortstop Dansby Swanson who hit a 411 feet homer off the pitch by Houston’s reliever Cristian Javier.

First baseman Freddie Freeman then proceeded to close out the game for Atlanta. Freeman first doubled to deep left center and allowed Soler to score at the top of the fifth before hitting a 416-foot home run at the top of the seventh to set the final score of 7-0.

The Braves starter Max Fried also had a huge game, picking up six strikeouts in the first six innings. He also only allowed four singles while finishing the contest with a 4.09 ERA.

“We hit every pothole, every bump you could possibly hit this year, and somehow the car still made it onto the other side,” Freeman said after the game. “It’s just an incredible group.”

The fourth title was a long time coming for the Atlanta Braves. Since going all the way in 1995, the franchise returned to the postseason 16 times and made two unsuccessful World Series trips before finally breaking through in 2021.

The Astros, on the other hand, still only have one World Series title to show after making it to the finals three times in five years.

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