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The Astros were 100% correct to not bring back Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander's time with the Astros was wildly successful to say the least. Between 2018-2022, Verlander posted a 2.33 ERA with Houston with 782 strikeouts in 618 innings of work. Verlander also won a pair of Cy Young Awards and had a second place finish as well. Other than losing the 2021 season after having Tommy John surgery, it was arguably the most dominant stretch of pitching the league has seen in recent memory.
However, after the 2022 season, Houston had to make a decision one whether or not to sign Verlander to another big money short-term deal when he was about to turn 40 years old. Ultimately, Justin ended up signing a two year, $86.66 million deal with the Mets as the allure of snagging a reigning Cy Young winner was too much for New York to pass up.
So far, that does not seem like money well spent for the Mets. While he has been a little better lately, Verlander has posted a 4.22 ERA in 10 starts, has seen a noticeable dip in strikeouts, and was hurt to start the season. Losing that sort of financial investment is basically a rounding error in Mets owner Steve Cohen's checkbook, but Houston has to be glad that isn't their payroll problem.
Even with their catching issues, the Astros moving on from Christian Vasquez was right
The Astros were looking for some catching depth last year at the trade deadline and they ultimately settled on trading for Christian Vasquez from the Red Sox. Vasquez wasn't a flashy addition by any means, but he had put together a perfectly reasonable career in Boston and was having a good 2022 season up until that point.
After seeing his power basically evaporate after the trade, Houston decided to not bring Vasquez back and he ultimately signed with the Twins. Vasquez is not having a great time up north in 2023 as he has put up a .227/.306/.288 line with the Twins while still being a very solid defensive catcher.