Justin Verlander is one of baseball's old-time aces, and he has been an ace for so long that we forget he is even there. There are guys like Yu Darvish and Clayton Kershaw who rule the landscape, and they now play for the Dodgers. What if Verlander were to go to the Dodgers?
He just took care of the Astros for his Tigers, and he has shown there is a blueprint to finessing the Astros into submission. There may be hope yet for the rest of the American League, or he could save the Dodgers' season. The baseball arms race has heated up, and Verlander could be the last to make a move.
How does this benefit the Tigers?
The Tigers are old and frail. They simply do not have the roster that they once had, and they are not in a position to perform any better than they are right now. They have been passed by by the Twins and Indians, and it may be time to start over. The window has closed for The Tigers, and selling Verlander for high value will help them revamp their farm system in a way that is. Beneficial to them and their fans.
This is their last chance
Justin Verlander will go into next season as a hot trading commodity from the time the World Series ends if he is still on the Tigers roster. The team will do nothing but answer questions about him because they will be so very close to rebuilding mode, and it is important to remember that he is not in a position to angle for more money.
Being on a contender today may allow Verlander to ask for more money, and he could extend his career. Extending his career with the Tigers seems unlikely.
The Dodgers can pay
The Dodgers are more than capable of paying for something that will help them get one more game from the Astros in the World Series. This is hypothetical, of course, because these teams are not even playing in the playoffs yet.
The Astros are underperforming, and the Dodgers are waiting out the end of the season. The climate today is not one of pure competition because we only assume that we will have an Astros-Dodgers World Series. I would hope to see these teams, but we cannot guarantee it.
The trade of Justin Verlander to any team will be newsworthy if it happens.
We cannot will the Tigers to do so, and we do not know their plans for the future. The people who put this team together are no longer there, and we do not know how much longer Verlander wants to play. He could wake up the day after the season and retire, but it is more likely that he will want to revamp his career with another team.
