Who is the Houston Astros’ most attractive trade chip amid a historic skid?

The Houston Astros are off to a start reminiscent of the dark years leading up to the current run that turned them into a bona fide dynasty.

Many Astros fans are still scarred from that 51-111 2013 MLB season. Now, this year won’t be that bad, the team is way too talented to be that bad. But it could get ugly quickly in a very tough division. In fact, that’s already the case despite a recent hot streak that left the team just 12-23 heading into a massive series with the New York Yankees.

This start has baseball experts wondering whether or not Houston will become a seller. And as soon as possible.

With that in mind, we wondered who the Astros’ most attractive trade chip would be. And it’s a pretty simple answer – Justin Verlander.

No, it’s not because the 41-year-old is shutting down, in fact, after a late start to the season, he has accumulated a 4.43 ERA with a 1.388 WHIP over 22.1 innings pitched in four departures.

That’s because of his ability to bounce back from bad outings, turn around a season, and help a team make the playoffs.

He is also owed $25 million this season with a vesting option in 2025 if he reaches 140 innings pitched in 2024.

In a season that has seen a rash of pitching injuries at an alarming rate, teams are scrambling to find additional bodies to fill out rotations and potentially much earlier than the usual MLB trade deadline.

Verlander, while now a franchise icon, is the exact type of player the Astros could decide to move on from as they look to balance the books, help rebuild a depleted farm system after years of success, and that wouldn’t exactly be the case. a death knell for their chances of returning this season.

After all, Houston has plenty of pitchers expected to return at some point this season. If all goes well, the rotation could be crowded anyway.