Will the Houston Astros be able to turn their season around, or will they be forced to make some tough decisions at the trade deadline? Sure, the Astros have certainly been better than their awful start in 2024, but the progress has been incremental at best. Instead of the surge of wins that would propel them back into contention, Houston has mostly just played 500 baseball—actually stopping the bleeding but staying seven games below .500 as late as mid-June.

Even after such a lackluster performance, the Astros insist they have not given up on their 2024 season. In fact, general manager Dana Brown has gone as far as to volunteer his opinion that he cannot see a situation in which the Astros will sell at the trade deadline. However, it hasn’t kept people from speculating that Houston might trade away some of its more notable players. One such name that was floating around was Justin Verlander. In a recent podcast show called Sportsmap Houston, it has been discussed that the Astros can consider trading Verlander, although the Astros went to great lengths to retain Verlander at last year’s trade deadline, he may discover that trading him remains on the table this year. Will Justin Verlander be traded or not? Let’s answer this question in depth.

Trading Justin Verlander is being considered

Earlier this month, Brown said he had no intentions of selling at the trade deadline despite the Astros’ poor start. As it’s been roughly a month since that quote, the indication is that Brown hasn’t budged. “I don’t see any chance of us becoming sellers. I think the team is too good, If guys start to turn a corner, good things will happen.” Mentioned Brown.

While, no doubt, the Astros stopped at nothing to bring Verlander back into the fold at the trade deadline last year, there is an argument to be made for trading him this year, hence there is no specific answer to this question and likewise the discussion went on Sportsmap Houston, ‘‘Astros can’t trade – their farm system is weak. They can’t compete against the Orioles and Dodgers. As result, they’ll have to make do with second or third-tier pitchers. They have no top 50 or top 75 prospects, Dana Brown should absolutely be trying to trade Verlander or Luis Garcia – both of their return is currently a mystery”

The Houston Astros are in the midst of a 2024 season that doesn’t place them in an enviable position. As it currently stands, they have crawled inch by inch to where they still remain seven games below .500 and nowhere closer to contention. This farm system is especially weak, lacking the talent to give top teams, such as the Orioles or the Dodgers, much of a runoff—no top 50 or top 75 prospects.

Now, there is a tough decision in front of General Manager Dana Brown. The Astros can’t add any big-time talent to their current roster, so they have to get by with second or even third-tier pitchers. That reality has already created tons of speculation that the Astros should trade some of their high-profile players to rebuild their future. Those lists include Justin Verlander and Luis Garcia. Either way, the return for Verlander or Garcia is anyone’s guess, but it might prove a risk worth taking to rejuvenate the Astros’ prospect pool and future chances of success.

Verlander has not pitched since June due to neck discomfort. To be fair, Verlander has thrown pretty well in the last couple of years. He won the American League Cy Young Award in 2022 based on his dazzling 1.75 ERA. The former ace also aided the Astros in winning the World Series during the ’22 season. Verlander gives Houston something else to think about a month before the 2024 MLB trade deadline. Anytime there is an injury to a star such as Justin Verlander, teams will consider adding outside options if need be. For the Astros, though, this goes beyond just Verlander. So when will he return for the game? let’s find out more.

Justin Verlander going to throw off the mound this coming Sunday

One of the hopeful signs for the Astros comes in the form of Justin Verlander, who is going to start practicing this coming Sunday for the first time since being placed on the injured list with a neck problem on June 18, according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle.

Although Verlander himself is likely to toss no more than 10-15 pitches on his own in the session, it’s still a step in the right direction for the veteran right-hander. The world’s gonna stop and watch Verlander take the mound again, with his presence missed enormously by fans and teammates alike.

The road to recovery is still far away. Verlander still has no hard and fast timeline to get back into the rotation, and he’ll need development time to build back up to a starter’s workload. But this bullpen session represents a big step forward, an indication that the righty is trending in the right direction.

Astros fans will continue to monitor the progress of Verlander closely and hope that he will recuperate fast and with ease. If he returned fit and ready, that would be a big fillip for a team in what has been a trying season. For now, seeing him back on the mound, even only for bullpen work, reminded one of his resilience and further illustrated the fight he had shown in his efforts to get back to his best form.

We’ll keep tracking and updating the injury status of Justin Verlander right here as they become available. Until then, tell us your comments below.