Astros Must Land Justin Verlander Amid MLB Trade Rumors To Answer AL West Rivals

The Houston Astros can make one major move ahead of Tuesday's MLB trade deadline to counter what their American League West rivals have already done on the trade market.

The Astros can bring Justin Verlander back to the team he won two World Series titles with, and in the process, bolster a starting rotation that could use more depth.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported on Monday night that talks accelerated between Houston and the New York Mets.

SNY's Andy Martino reported a deal was not close, but noted the Astros could work something out depending on how aggressive they are in the negotiations.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Chandler Rome reported that the talks between the two franchises were fluid.

"Talks are fluid, and subject to change. But multiple sources briefed on the discussions told The Athletic on Monday that the Astros remain involved in the Verlander talks. Some believe a return to Houston is the future Hall of Famer's preferred outcome, citing, in part, his relationship with Crane," they wrote.

Houston's rotation is not as strong as it has been in previous years. Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr. and Jose Urquidy are all on the injured list. Only Urquidy has the potential to return in 2023.

The Astros have Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier at the top of their rotation and then two unproven pitchers in the postseason in J.P. France and Hunter Brown.

The potential addition of Verlander would give the Astros three proven arms at the top of their rotation for any type of postseason series.

A Verlander move would answer what the Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers have done over the last week.

Texas helped the Mets kickstart their fire sale by trading for Max Scherzer. The Rangers also added Jordan Montgomery from the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Angels landed Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the Chicago White Sox and then bolstered their lineup with C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk from the Colorado Rockies.

Houston recently received a lineup boost of its own with the returns of Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez from the injured list, so it does not need hitting help as much as it does pitching.

Completing a Verlander deal is complicated because of the two-year, $86 million contract that the 40-year-old signed with the Mets in the offseason.

The Astros and Mets likely have to work out a deal in which the Mets pay part of Verlander's salary similar to how the Scherzer trade was structured.

Houston's other problem is that it has just one Top 100 prospect in outfielder Drew Gilbert. The Mets would be silly not to ask for Gilbert in exchange for Verlander to add to their pool of young talent.

The Astros probably do not want to trade any major-league talent because that would chip into their lineup depth in their competition with the Angels and Rangers. Houston is a half-game back of the Rangers and four games in front of the Angels going into Tuesday.

The reigning World Series champion must do everything it can to land Verlander before the 6 p.m. ET deadline because it would put it in a great position to win the AL West and avoid a wild-card series.

Houston knows what it will get out of Verlander in the postseason, and that is the biggest difference between what it can do at the deadline and what the other AL West franchises have already done.