So have the Astros officially won the Justin Verlander trade with the Tigers?
Perhaps this was already the case when Houston won the World Series back in 2017 after the trade was initiated really seconds before the trade deadline. However, you may be even more justified saying that today when a key part of the trade, pitcher Franklin Perez, was released by the Tigers.
The Detroit Tigers sent catcher Grayson Greiner to the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a left hamstring strain, the team announced. He suffered the injury in the fifth inning of Tuesday’s 8-7 win over the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park.
To fill Greiner’s spot, the Tigers recalled catcher Eric Haase, who also plays left field, from Triple-A Toledo. Because Haase needed to be added to the 40-man roster, right-hander Franklin Perez — from the 2017 Justin Verlander trade — was placed on unconditional release waivers to make room for him.
Detroit Free Press
Catcher Jake Rogers and outfielder Daz Cameron were also part of the deal, who remains with the team, but it was Perez who was unequivocally supposed to be the crown jewel of this deal and was even rated as Detroit’s top prospect heading into the 2018 season.
Now Perez’s release doesn’t automatically mean he’s gone for good.
Perez who’s scheduled to undergo shoulder surgery could pass through waivers as Evan Petzold of the Freep says it would make sense for the Tigers to re-sign the 23-year-old to a minor-league contract. This seemingly in an effort to salvage what you can from the deal where you sent the organizations best pitcher ever to another team to win the World Series.
Whatever happens though, this is another indictment on the Al Avila regime. Sure the Tigers have set themselves up with a nice farm system but can we truly count on Avila’s judge of talent when it comes to that farm system? Especially considering what should’ve been a no-brainer in returning young talent hasn’t worked out at all.
