Tuesday was one of the busiest days of Dennis Cholowski Women Jersey the Major League Baseball offseason. The Hall of Fame voting results were announced; catcher J.T. Realmuto inked a new, record-breaking contract with the ; and joined up with the , who just added last week.Those weren't the only moves to go down on Tuesday, either. Below, you'll find a recap of the day's other signings. has played in an eastern division and he's played in a western division. This upcoming season, he'll play in a central, having joined the on a one-year deal worth $10.5 million, . CHC SS #19 BA0.297R19HR0RBI10SB2 Simmons Albin Grewe Jersey entered the offseason ranked by CBS Sports as the ninth-best free agent available. : How me sed up was 2020? Simmons, arguably the best fielding shortstop of his generation, graded as a below-average defender, according to public-facing metrics. Now, to be fair, he played in only 30 games because of an ankle injury and his decision to opt-out late in the year. To be even more fair, reviewing his play suggests that he was largely the same rangy, big-armed, sure-handed defender he's always been, he just dropped a few pop-ups that he shouldn't have dropped and didn't have enough time to atone for it. Fair enough. Simmons did enjoy a bounce back season at the plate, though his Johan Franzen Men Jersey only real skill there is making contact. He's posted a 98 OPS+ since the start of the 2017 season, but let's be real: you aren't signing him for his stick.Simmons' addition will push incumbent shortstop to second base. Youngster , meanwhile, will be used in a utility capacity.The , meanwhile, have an agreement with veteran infielder , . SF 2B #8 BA0.281R31HR5RBI25SB1 La Stella, who will turn 32 in a few days' time, entered the winter ranked by CBS Sports as the 31st-best free agent available. : La Stella didn't receive as much fanfare this season as he did in 2019, when he homered 16 times in 80 games and mi sed Trevor Daley Men Jersey an All-Star Game appearance because of a fractured leg, but according to OPS+ this was the superior campaign. He's trimmed his strikeout rate to barebone levels (down to 5 percent this year) without it impacting his discipline or the adaptability of his swing, as he's still able to hit the ball hard (relative to himself) acro s planes. A team signing La Stella is doing so because of the contributions he can make on the offensive side, particularly with his average and on-base percentage against right-handed pitchers. He's limited on the defensive side because of a substandard arm and a general lack of twitchy athleticism. La Stella can "play" Gordie Howe Kids Jersey second or third, you just aren't going to feel good about it until he's due to bat again.La Stella is expected to see action at both second and third base. As it stands, the Giants are projected to start and at those positions. Still, having a little more capable depth is never a bad idea.

Major League Baseball is on indefinite hiatus because of the growing coronavirus threat, and Opening Day has already been pushed back to mid-May. It could be pushed back even further depending how the next few weeks unfold. I feel confident, perhaps irrationally so, that we will have baseball at some point in 2020. I just don't know exactly when.The good news is 2021 promises to bring us extra baseball as a World Baseball Cla sic season. , which will feature 20 teams for the first time. The 16 competitors from the 2017 WBC have automatic bids into the 2021 WBC, and four other spots will be up for grabs in upcoming qualifying events.Australia, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Israel, Italy, Esa Lindell Jersey Japan, Netherlands, South Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the United States, and Venezuela are locked into spots. Brazil, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, Panama, Philippines, Nicaragua, Pakistan, South Africa, and Spain will compete in qualifying events. , who led Team USA to WBC gold in 2017, . He calls it the "Dream Team" and has secured commitments from 2017 teammates and , among others. has struggled to get big names in the WBC in the past. Stroman doesn't seem to want to take "no" for an answer. The 2021 WBC rosters won't be announced until next spring, but that won't stop us from putting together a Dream Team roster right now. . A lot can and will change the next few months and that's OK. Here is my Team USA 28-man roster one year out from the 2021 WBC. Catchers (2) , J.T. Realmuto, I was very tempted to take prospect and 2019 No. 1 draft pick over Garver. Rutschman is the best catching prospect since , but 2021 might be a little too early for him. If we were putting together a 2022 WBC roster, then yeah, I'd take him. For now, it's Garver backing up Realmuto, the game's best all-around catcher and perhaps the easiest call at any single position on Team USA. and are next in line behind the plate. 2017 WBC catchers (2): , Buster Posey Infielders (7) , , , , , Mets , , The WBC is a fun event and I'm putting an emphasis on fun with Brian Bellows Men Jersey my roster. Anderson is awesome and exciting to watch, so he's in. Muncy pimps home runs like few others and the WBC is an event made for guys like him. The WBC is appointment viewing for bat flip aficionados. McNeil is easy to love because he puts everything in play and goes all out, all the time. Alonso socks dingers and has quickly established himself as a great amba sador for the sport. Bregman, Chapman, and Story are simply among the game's best players. As for positional coverage, we have Alonso and Muncy at first base, McNeil and Muncy at second base, Anderson and Story at shortstop, and Bregman and Chapman at third base. Bregman can also slide over to shortstop, if nece sary, and McNeil can handle third base as well. He's also our emergency outfielder after playing 71 games in left and 42 games in right last season. Two great options at each position Stephen Johns Women Jersey with good backup plans beyond that as well. Apologies to , , , , , , and , among others. They are all WBC worthy ballplayers who are left on the outside looking in at my roster. 2017 WBC infielders (8): Nolan Arenado, Alex Bregman, , , , Eric Hosmer, , Outfielders (5) , Dodgers , Dodgers , , Christian Yelich, If those five players all get abducted by little green aliens and have to mi s the 2021 WBC, Team USA could still trot out an outfield that includes , , , and , with and next in line. Don't sleep on either. If that long awaited breakout comes in 2020, Buxton could force his way into Team USA's starting outfield next spring. Otherwise Bellinger, Betts, Trout, and Yelich are the four titans of American-born outfielders right now. They have won the last four MVPs (Trout and Betts in the AL, Bellinger and Yelich in the NL) and are all primed-aged superstars. Putting all four on our roster is an easy call. As for Merrifield, he's a great all-around player and very versatile. He can play pretty much anywhere and provide a speed and contact element off the bench. Merrifield could factor into the second base picture as well. 2017 WBC outfielders (4): , , , Christian Yelich For fun, here's how I would build Team USA's starting lineup given our rosters above (WBC managers have not been announced, so we don't know who will be building Team USA's real lineups just yet): RF Mookie BettsLF Christian YelichCF Mike TroutDH Cody Bellinger1B Pete Alonso3B Matt Chapman2B Max Muncy SS Trevor StoryC J.T. RealmutoThe top four comes together pretty easily, I believe, and Alonso's power makes him a natural fit for the No. 5 spot. You could put the other players in the Nos. 6-9 spots in any order and I wouldn't argue. There are no wrong answers there. For what it's worth, when you plug that lineup into the with , you get an average of 6.63 runs per game. That's close to a 1,100-run lineup in a 162-game season. Starting Pitchers (4) RHP , RHP , Mets RHP , RHP Marcus Stroman, Mets I desperately wanted to get into the rotation -- I Antoine Roussel Kids Jersey love Bieber and think he'll soon be an undisputed top five starter in the game -- but Stroman was great during the 2017 WBC and he's been a great amba sador for the event and USA Baseball, so I'm cool with giving him a spot in the rotation. Cole and deGrom are no-brainers and the third rotation spot came down to Bieber or Flaherty. You pick one and I'll happily take the other. No wrong answer there. The big names among the second tier Team USA starters are and co-aces and . All great! Scherzer and Verlander will be 36 and 38, respectively, when the 2021 WBC rolls around though, and age-related decline could soon begin. Strasburg is unbelievable in big moments -- he owns a 1.46 ERA with 71 strikeouts in 55 1/3 career postseason innings -- and can be on my team Andrej Sekera Women Jersey any day. For me, his injury history puts him behind Flaherty. Other notable American-born pitchers include up-and-comers and , old reliables like , , and , and other big names like , , and . A repeat of 2019 in 2020 would put , , and on my WBC radar as well. 2017 WBC starters (4): , , , Relief Pitchers (9) RHP , LHP , White Sox RHP , Yankees LHP , Brewers RHP , RHP , Astros LHP , Twins LHP Will Smith, RHP , No position in the sport is more volatile than relief pitcher. At this time last year guys like , , and would have been shoo-ins for the WBC. Now? Not so much. A lot changes in the bullpen world each year and that will again be true in 2020. Our proposed bullpen is subject to change moreso than any other position by a factor of about 10. Hader and Yates have been arguably the two most dominant relievers in baseball the last two seasons. I'd use Yates as the closer and employ Hader as a fireman, that guy who comes into big situations to get a key strikeout. Green, Pre sly, and Smith have been among the game's best late-inning relievers the last few years, Anderson and

In early September, the placed then-acting-general manager Zack Craig Hartsburg Men Jersey Scott on administrative leave following his arrest for driving while intoxicated. In early November, the . They've since moved on and .Scott, meanwhile, saw his case play out in the legal system and was found not guilty on his two drunk driving charges on Thursday in a White Plains, New York court.Scott made a statement following the verdict ( ): I am thankful for today's verdict. Nonethele s, I regret Martin Hanzal Men Jersey choices I made on August 31, resulting in circumstances that led to my arrest. John Klingberg Kids Jersey Thank you to my attorneys, friends, profe sional a sociates, and, most importantly, my family for supporting me throughout this proce s.Profe sionally, I'm grateful to Sandy Alderson for the opportunity to lead baseball operations for the Mets and wish my former teammates nothing but the best going forward.I Thomas Harley Women Jersey believe this humbling experience will make me a better husband, father, son, friend and leader, and I look forward to what the future holds.Scott, 45, joined the Mets in 2020 after 17 years with the organization. He was promoted to interim general manager when allegations of sexual hara Mike Modano Men Jersey sment against then-Mets GM Jared Porter surfaced. His tenure only lasted several months until he was arrested.

right fielder is what those in the industry like to call a five-tool superstar. He's got it all. He can hit for average, hit for power, run, play great defense and witne s here Robert Bortuzzo Men Jersey the rocket he was ble sed with in lieu of a normal right arm. Mookie with a HOSE. MLB (@MLB) Holy smokes. That's jarring even knowing he has a great arm. It wasn't just the arm strength, either, it was perfectly placed and it Jay Bouwmeester Men Jersey had to be in order to cut down star , who normally on a play like that would have a stand-up triple. Let's not overlook the glove part of this, too, because the Chad Johnson Women Jersey out at third doesn't happen without Betts' perfect route to the ball and absolutely perfectly picking it up in stride while transitioning into his throw. That's just textbook and many players couldn't even dream of pulling off the pickup and transition to throw that smoothly, let alone making that throw as part of the same motion. It's as good an outfield a sist as you'll Nathan Walker Jersey ever see. As we all know by now, the 2018 AL MVP came to the Dodgers in an offseason trade from the . Heading into Friday's action, he hasn't really been hitting like we're used to seeing. He's hitting .206/.270/.265 in 37 plate appearances. The bet is he Vince Dunn Women Jersey breaks out of the funk pretty soon (sure enough, he homered in the fourth inning). In the meantime, he can still help the Dodgers win games in other ways because he is, as noted, a true five-tool superstar.

The Dodgers season is over, short of the goal of repeating as World Series champions. They walked the playoff tightrope as well as any team could have, claiming Paul Stastny Kids Jersey a winner-take-all wild-card game against the Cardinals on a ninth-inning walk-off homer, then winning the last two games of a best-of-five NLDS against the rival Giants.And they even won a potential elimination game in the NLCS, Game 5, to extend their series with the Braves to a sixth game, but they fell short in that one, unable to solve Atlanta postseason heroes .Anything short of a title, even with the injuries they had to deal with in October, was a disappointment. Those are the expectations with the franchise now.MORE: So, whats next? The Dodgers have built an organization that has no real window of contention. Its a giant door that feels permanently wedged open, with the talent in the minors and the win-now, win-tomorrow-too mindset of the front office.But that doesnt mean this will be a calm offseason. Quite the contrary. The Dodgers to-do list is long and full of notable names.Lets take a look. The i sue: Free agentYep, a biggie right off the bat. Its hard to imagine Seager, who was drafted by the Dodgers No. 18 overall in the 2012 draft out of a Dmitrij Jaskin Kids Jersey North Carolina high school, playing for anyone other than the only club hes ever known. But the fact that he and the Dodgers never figured out an extension casts a lot of doubts on their future together. The is deep and full of quality players, and Seager who turns 28 next April will be at or near the top of lists for many teams. The i sue: Free agentSpeaking of cant imagine this guy playing for anyone else Kershaw just might lead that list, for all of baseball (maybe with the Molina/Wainwright tandem in St. Louis). Kershaw, who turns 34 next spring, showed in 2021 that even though he might not be a true staff ace anymore, hes still an effective starter who mi ses bats his 10.7 K/9 rate was the third-best of his career, and his 3.00 FIP was his lowest since 2016 (and he finished second in the Cy Young vote in 2017). But finding a year/price point could be a challenge. His days of 200-inning seasons seem long gone. Will the Dodgers still pay a premium because of his Dodgers legacy? The i sue: Free agent after 2022Hes under club control for one more year, then is eligible to hit the free-agent market after the 2022 season. If the Dodgers fail to bring Seager back, Turner slides over to his preferred position, and L.A. is set at shortstop for one year. But what then? Could they really let Seager walk after 2021 and then let Turner do the same thing after 2022? If they decide that Turner is their guy hes actually about 10 months older than Seager then it might be wise to sign him to some sort of extension this offseason. The i sue: Free agentYep, another big name. Do the Dodgers bring back this future Hall of Famer on a shorter-term, high-AAV deal? They wont be the only franchise thatmakesan offerto Scherzer, who is 37 but turned in another outstanding season that will almost certainly produce the eighth top-five Cy Young finish when the results are announced in November. The i sue: Legal troublesHeres betting he never suits up for the Dodgers again. The i sue: Who will be there?Walker Buehler and Julio Urias will be there, for 2022 and beyond. But Kershaw and Scherzer are both free agents, and Bauers time in L.A. seems done. Tony Gonsolin will David Perron Men Jersey likely have a spot. Dustin May still has a bright future, but he had Tommy John surgery in May, and getting anything from him before the second half of the 2022 season is optimistic (and probably reckle s). Theres almost zero chance the Dodgers sit still with the rotation this offseason, especially seeing how quickly a few injuries/i sues to starting pitchers can turn an expected strength into a weakne s in October. The i sue: Free agentAnd yet another star who started with the Dodgers organization Jansen signed as an amateur free agent in 2004 who is about to hit the market. For real, if home-grown guys Jansen, Kershaw and Seager all leave, that will be a seismic shift. The Dodgers already brought Robby Fabbri Women Jersey him back one time, on a five-year, $80 million deal in January 2017. He had his struggles in 2018-20 meaning he was only good, not great but he was outstanding in 2021, going 38-for-43 in save opportunities, with a 2.22 ERA and 11.2 K/9. In seven postseason innings this month, he allowed zero runs and only three hits while striking out 14. He turned 34 at the end of September and wont get any offers matching his previous contract terms, but lots of teams will be interested in bringing on a late-inning bullpen guy with Jansens type of postseason experience and succe s.MORE: The i sue: Free agentDodgers fans and the front office, obviously know what Taylor Chad Johnson Men Jersey has meant to the team since he came over in an almost-unnoticed-at-the-time trade with the Mariners in 2016. Hes started at least 10 games for Los Angeles at shortstop, second base, third base, left field, right field and center field. Hes got power and speed as an offensive force he had and three stolen bases in the NLCS alone. And, yeah, he has a flair for the dramatic, for stepping up and delivering in the biggest moments (like the wild-card walk-off home run). The i sue: Free agentAfter injuries wrecked the end of his time with the Brewers, Knebel revived his career with the Dodgers, who showed what they thought of him by giving him the first inning of Game 5 of the NLDS and Game 1 of the NLCS. Can he be an All-Star closer again, like he was in 2017 when he saved 39 games for the Brewers, with a 1.78 ERA and 14.9 K/9? Maybe not, but you can bet there are lots of teams who would love to offer the soon-to-be-30-year-old a contract for a couple of years to help solidify the back of their bullpen.

At 12-12 on the season, the Nationals record ranks seventh among 15 NL teams.They would be three games out of first place in the NL West, two-and-a-half games back in the NL Central. But they play in the NL East, so theyre sitting in first place, a half-game ahead of both the Phillies (14-15) and Mets (11-12). The Braves (12-16) and Marlins (11-16) are within shouting distance still, despite slow starts to the season.Its early, sure, but this is not really what anyone expected. The Braves played at a 94-win pace in the shortened 2020 campaign and came within a win of the World Series. The Mets got a new owner (Steve Cohen) and a new superstar (Francisco Lindor) this offseason, and expectations were as high as theyve been in years. The Nationals still have Max Scherzer and Steven Strasburg atop the rotation, with Juan Soto in a lineup with slugging additions Kyle Schwarber and Josh Bell.MORE: The Phillies completely revamped a bullpen that tanked their playoff hopes in 2020, and retained key offensive pieces in J.T. Realmuto and Didi Gregorius. The Marlins were coming off a surprising playoff berth last year and brought back lots of young rising stars.But here we are, in early May and the entire division is in a collective funk. It seems unlikely, of course, that the division will be won with a .500 record, but the thoughts of the Braves and Mets challenging for 100- Nathan MacKinnon Jersey win totals are probably gone. Before we look too far ahead, though, lets take a look at whats gone wrong so far. The Atlanta offense has been wildly streaky so far this season, and when the bats Calle Rosen Men Jersey go cold, they go very, very cold. The Braves scored a total of three runs in their first three games of the season, against the Phillies. They managed just one hit and zero runs in a double-header against the Diamondbacks on April 25. Ronald AcuaJr. is hitting like an MVP candidate and Austin Riley has been very good of late, but most everyone else is off to a slow start. Batting averages arent everything, of course like Wikipedia, a good place to start looking as long as you dig a bit more but Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson, Marcel Ozuna, Travis dArnaud (whos now on the IL) and Cristian Pache are all batting .229 or worse.In the rotation, Ian Anderson (3.27 ERA) and Huascar Ynoa (2.96) have been good, but the rest of the rotation? Woof. Here are the runs allowed by Braves pitchers in a recent eight-game stretch:5, 7, 7, 0, 0, 9, 13, 6. Gue s which two were started by Anderson and Ynoa. Yep. The starting pitchings been an i sue.Will it last?The Atlanta hitters are too good for this to continue. Freeman, for example, had a .462 on-base percentage last year (when he won the NL MVP), and hes at .344 this season. Marcel Ozuna had a 172 OPS+ in 2020, when he led the NL in homers and RBIs; he has a 58 OPS+ this year.Eventually, the Braves hope to have Mike Soroka and Max Fried back in the rotation, but the team can't bank on health or sustained succe s for either. More immediately, the Braves need veterans Charlie Morton (5.08 ERA) and Drew Smyly (8.05 ERA) to be better. The club signed both to one-year deals in the offseason a practice that had been beneficial in recent years but both have been disappointments so far. Well, we know why the Mets bra s thinks the club has been struggling around .500. The powers-that-be fired hitting coaches Chili Davis and Tom Slater after a lo s to the Cardinals on Monday night. The timing felt a little strange, considering that the Mets A.J. Greer Jersey had scored 17 runs in the previous three games (and won two of those three), but offensive production certainly had been an i sue. In 12 of the first 23 games, the Mets failed to score more than three runs. Theyve lost three games started by ace Jacob deGrom when deGrom lasted at least six innings and gave up one or zero runs.The Mets have played 23 games.Their top three starters Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman & Taijuan Walker have started 15 of those 23 games and have a combined 1.68 ERA in 91 innings.The Mets are 11-12. Ryan Fagan (@ryanfagan) Heres a so far this season.Will it last?The offense will get better. Pete Alonso and Michael Conforto have already heated up after slow starts. Jeff McNeil, who owned a .319 career average in 248 games heading into this Nicolas Meloche Women Jersey season, isnt going to hit .235 all year. And Francisco Lindor? Hes a legitimate superstar in his Age 27 season facing the pre sure of a new team, a new fan base and a new contract. Hes allowed a first-month hiccup. Hell be just fine. Mostly, the Nationals have had trouble staying healthy. At the moment, both Juan Soto and Stephen Strasburg two pretty key players are on the IL. Jon Lester just finally came off the IL and threw five shutout innings in his debut with the team. Among position players, only four guys have played more than 17 of the clubs 24 games.And some of the healthy guys have struggled. The team acquired Josh Bell and Kyle Schwarber to add punch to the lineup the two combined for 75 homers in 2019 but theyve hit only four, with OPS+ numbers of 42 and 71, respectively. In the rotation, Patrick Corbin has had two good starts and three disastrous starts, adding up to an 8.10 ERA, and Eric Fedde (4.43 ERA) and Joe Ro s (4.64) have been OK at best.Will it last?At some point, the Nationals will get healthy. At least, thats the hope. And if the regulars get back to their regular production, theres no reason this team cant contend. Max Scherzer has been his normal brilliant self and Brad Hand hasnt allowed an earned run as the closer. Trea Turner has been outstanding (146 OPS+, with six homers and seven stolen bases), and veterans Ryan Zimmerman (.319 average) and Josh Harrison (.361) have been great. The Phillies might not have a ma sively glaring Rob Ramage Kids Jersey i sue their offense is OK though far from great, their pitching is OK but far from awful, etc. but the .500ish record is what you get when a team with a small margin for error fails to do the little things right. On a lot of nights, those mistakes are made by the defense. Look at the Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) stat. The Phillies are 27th of 30 MLB teams, at minus-11. The Nationals, on the other hand, are plus-21. Thats a huge difference.Here's an example: In the April 29 game against St. Louis, the Phillies had a 1-0 lead in the fifth and Aaron Nola was cruising. Odubel Herrera dove for a ball he wasn't going to catch and allowed the runner, Andrew Knizner, to hustle to second base. That extra base led to an intentional walk (a questionable decision by Joe Girardi), and that led to this ...Will it last?Lets put it this way: If 96 or 97 wins is what it takes to win the NL East, the Phillies probably arent going to compete for the division title. But if the goal is 90ish? T

The World Baseball Cla sic returns next spring, and when it does, will be there. The star told reporters Monday he intends to play in the 2023 WBC. In fact, Team USA GM Tony Reagins said Trout is "going to be our team captain, too," . Reagins was the Angels GM when Trout was drafted in 2009."I' Sven Andrighetto Men Jersey m looking forward to playing for our country," Trout said Monday during a media se sion ahead of the 2022 All-Star Game ( ). Trout, who was placed on the injured list with ribcage inflammation Monday and will not play in the All-Star Game, has never played in the World Baseball Cla sic. He said he was open to playing in the 2021 WBC before it was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2023 WBC will be the first since the United States won gold in the 2017 WBC. Fantasy Baseball Today Newsletter Your Cheat Code To Adam Foote Men Jersey Fantasy Baseball You're destined to gain an edge over your friends with advice from the award-winning FBT crew. I agree to receive the "Fantasy Baseball Today Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. By pre sing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the . Please check the opt-in box Pierre-Edouard Bellemare Men Jersey to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. Sorry! There was an error proce sing your subscription. Rosters won't be finalized for months and Trout is the first player to commit to Team USA. has committed to play for Italy and has committed to play for Anton Lindholm Jersey Israel. has said he is open to playing for Canada again, as he did in 2017. Both of Freeman's parents are Canadian, giving him eligibility for the WBC.The WBC showcases the top talent in the world in a best-on-best tournament, and is part of MLB's efforts to grow the game globally. Japan won the 2006 and 2009 events before the Dominican Republic won the 2013 title. Team USA Carl Soderberg Jersey beat Puerto Rico in the 2017. Team USA is in Pool C with Canada, Colombia, Mexico, and a fifth team that will be decided in a qualifier event this fall..

right-hander opened his August with an impre sive start on Thursday night against the . He threw six shutout innings, surrendering two hits and i suing one walk versus five strikeouts. The outing improved his seasonal marks to a 1.73 ERA (221 ERA+) and a 5.52 strikeout-to-walk ratio over the course of 130 innings.That last number Brett Pesce Jersey happens to be an important one. By cro sing the 130-inning threshold, Verlander triggered a conditional $25 million player option in his contract that was tied to his workload -- an incentive that the Astros requested when they signed him last winter following his year-plus rehab from Tommy John surgery. Julien Gauthier Women Jersey NYM SP #35 ERA1.73WHIP.85IP130BB23K127 "I wasn't pitching to get to 130 innings," Verlander told reporters, . "When we were doing the contract, Astros owner Jim Crane told me they wanted 130 innings for my player option. I was asking for a straight player option and they said they'd like 130 innings, and that was that. I thought that was a very fair number the way I Jordan Staal Men Jersey like to pitch." Fantasy Baseball Today Newsletter Your Cheat Code To Fantasy Baseball You're destined to gain an edge over your friends with advice from the award-winning FBT crew. I agree to receive the "Fantasy Baseball Today Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. By pre sing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the . Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Scott Darling Men Jersey Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. Sorry! There was an error proce sing your subscription. Verlander, 39, will now have the choice this winter to return to the Astros for $25 million or to decline and test free agency. It's worth noting that Verlander could also decline the option before reaching a new agreement with the Astros. Given his track record and his performance this season, it would seem reasonable to believe he could land another one-year pact worth more than $25 million. The Astros, 69-38 on the season, will continue their four-game series against the Guardians on Friday night. Houston's 11 game lead in the American League West is the largest in the league, though it trails the ' 12 game lead in the National League West for the largest in Janne Kuokkanen Jersey the majors.