Astros: Alex Bregman finds out interesting info about Verlander

The thought of Justin Verlander being on the team for the next two seasons was a shock to Alex Bregman.

With a knowledgeable baseball player like Alex Bregman, you would think that he knows everything. Despite his young age, he has great baseball instincts at the plate and with the glove. While he wasn’t the MVP of the series, as A.J. Hinch predicted, he saved many runs with great plays at the plate. His glove was sent to Cooperstown to be displayed.

Like all the Astros, Bregman had to be pumped when they added Justin Verlander on August 31st. Maybe he also thought to himself. This is the year to win now with Verlander in the fold. As he watched Verlander dominate the completion in the regular season and postseason, he had to feel like it was a great trade.

In the regular season with the Astros, Verlander was 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 34 innings. He continued his dominance into the postseason, including a complete game versus the Yankees in Game 2 of the ALCS. The trade for Verlander was a significant factor in the Astros winning the World Series.

Bregman didn’t know.

When Bregman heard that the Astros traded for Verlander, he obviously missed one major detail. Not that Verlander was engaged to Kate Upton, pretty sure most people knew this. They are getting married today in Italy. Yahoo wrote an article that Astros fans were mad that Verlander was not at the parade yesterday. That would be a false statement.

After Game 7, Bregman learned the key point to Verlander’s contract. During Joe Musgrove’s video, you hear Bregman in the background saying, “Justin Verlander is here for two more years!” Then Bregman grabs the phone and says that he just found out about that! “That’s two more World Series!”

The reaction from Bregman was the best, and he went on to say they needed 40 wheel-barrels to carry this team’s nuts. With Verlander on this team for the next two seasons, this team is a legit World Series contender. Verlander changes an okay rotation into a dynamic one with a legitimate pitcher the other team fears.

People keep asking if the Astros have a chance to get back to the World Series in 2018? The answer is apparently yes with the young core of players with a mix of veterans. Verlander will be making $20 million from the Astros per season with the Tigers paying $8 million.

Next: Astros: Club options exercised for Jose Altuve, Marwin Gonzalez

You can see why Bregman got excited after learning that Verlander will be here for the next two years. After improving the bullpen this offseason, there is a good chance that we could see the Astros back in the Fall Classic in 2018.

***Stats and salary info from Baseball-Reference***