Top 10 MLB players benefiting from hiatus
Justin Verlander (Career: 72.0 fWAR | 70.9 bWAR)
What better way to bookend this piece than by using the mouthiest member of the Houston Astros. In the beginning, I admittedly cheated by listing a team as the 10th ranked “player” that benefits the most from the layoff, but now I’m ready to make things right.
Earlier this year, I wrote about how Justin Verlander would start to see a decline in 2020. Days later, he suffered a lat strain that would threaten his ability to start Opening Day for the Astros.
And then the novel coronavirus arrived and shut everything down. Now, the veteran righty is taking full advantage, opting to have right grown surgery.
This injury has a timetable for return of about 8-weeks. Given his decision to have it in mid-March, he should be ready to kick things back into gear by mid-May, which is plenty of time for the Benjamin Button of baseball.
Now, not only will Verlander be able to rest his lat injury, he deals with an apparent groin injury, and suddenly he’s 100% come whenever Opening Day is.
What’s more, given how this coronavirus layoff is benefitting his team, it’s plausible that Veraldner can compete for another Cy Young award and be celebrated for his contributions to the game, even if he was a member of a team that blatantly cheated to win a World Series.
If I sound like a bratty fan who is just whining, I am. You would be too if your team was eliminated by Verlander’s team TWICE during the Champion Series.
So there you have it, the top 10 MB players benefitting the most from the current layoff. Disagree? Leave us a comment! let’s have a powwow.