Astros strike at midnight, acquire Justin Verlander from Tigers

The Houston Astros may have made up for their inactive trade deadline. The team struck at the last possible second Thursday night, reportedly acquiring Justin Verlander from the Detroit Tigers.

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There’s an interesting story behind how the whole deal went down. Early in the night, there were rumors the two teams were working on a deal. It was reported with 15 minutes left in the waiver deadline that Verlander may have rejected the trade.

A few minutes later, it was reported that wasn’t the case, and people started to speculate whether Houston had pulled the offer. The deadline passed, and everyone was waiting to see how the deal fell through.

Then, at 12:16 a.m. ET, Detroit Free Press writer Anthony Fenech said the deal was done. Others quickly confirmed his report.

Yes, 16 minutes after the waiver deadline had passed, the news broke. The deal was obviously completed prior to the deadline — one minute prior, according to Jon Heyman — but it came as a shock to see it reported 16 minutes later.

It will also come as a shock to see Verlander in another uniform. After spending all 13 seasons of his career with the Tigers, Verlander will be a member of the Astros.

The 34-year-old has a 3.82 ERA over 172 innings this season. He’ll be in Houston long-term, as Verlander is under contract through at least 2019. He’ll make $28 million in both 2018 and 2019, and has a $22 million option for 2020 that gets picked up immediately if he finishes in the top-5 of the Cy Young voting.

Houston will reportedly receive a hefty amount of cash to cover Verlander’s salary, according to our own Jeff Passan. It’s believed Detroit is sending at least $10 million over in the deal.

In exchange, the Tigers will receive pitcher Franklin Perez, outfielder Daz Cameron and catcher Jake Rogers.

Of that group, Perez ranks highest on Baseball America’s top-100 list. He came in at No. 39 overall on their July update. Perez, 19, ranked as the Astros’ No. 4 prospect coming into the season. Over 86 1/3 innings at two minor-league levels, Perez has a 3.44 ERA.

You may already be familiar with Cameron. He’s the son of former outfielder Mike Cameron. After struggling last season, the 20-year-old outfielder has regained some of his value with a .271/.347/.467 slash line in Class A. He entered the year as Houston’s No. 14 prospect. He did not make Baseball America’s top-100 update.

Rogers, 22, rounds out the group. He rated as the team’s No. 20 prospect coming into the year, and has hit .265/.353/.476 over two levels. While he’s regarded for his defensive tools, both his power and batting average have taken major steps forward this season.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik