He did not play 1B in ST as far as I recall. He has not played 1B this year or any other year. Yes, he says he can. When have Hinch or Luhnow even slightly hinted recently that Brantley might be an option at 1B? So yes, at this point it is in fact fans making it up. Let me know when they say otherwise. Could it happen? Sure? But Alvarez has actually done it recently and they've actually talked about it, so I'd expect that first.
CF George Springer, Derek Fisher, Jake Marisnick 2B Jose Altuve, Tony Kemp 3B Alex Bregman 1B Seth Beer, Michael Brantley, Yuli Gurriel, Tyler White DH Yordan Alvarez SS Carlos Correa LF Kyle Tucker RF Josh Reddick C Korey Lee, Robinson Chirinos
You expect Korey Lee to be on the roster next season? How is he at handling a major (or for that matter a minor) league pitching staff?
If you’re doin an “of the future roster”: C Lee, Stubbs 1B Beer 2B Kessinger SS Nova, Pena 3B Toro, Perez RF Tucker CF Brewer, Straw LF Alvarez, Barber
Did Stassi do something to a family member of yours? You seem to have an unhealthy dislike for the guy.
Nothing personal against the guy. I'm not even sure he's at fault, but it is probably close to a year since the last time Stassi caught Verlander. I doubt that is a coincidence. I think having a SP and a catcher that can't work together is a serious problem that needs to be resolved. I think Verlander is better. Edit: I will admit it probably comes off very callous that you get rid of the worse player when two players don't work together when working together is essential for their positions. Stassi is the backup catcher. Verlander is the ace. It is up to Stassi to make things work.
Out of curiosity, why is it a serious problem that needs to be resolved? Just because they don't like each other (or whatever) and don't work together on a regular basis doesn't mean they can't during an emergency, which is the only time the backup catcher is really relevant anyway.
It means Chirinos sucks it up and catches Verlander regardless of how is body is feeling. It also means if Chirinos goes down in a playoff game, Stassi and Verlander would not be on the same page. I don't think it is personal. From the quotes I've heard/seen, pitchers in particular Verlander don't think Stassi calls a good game. Verlander would be throwing pitches that he doesn't trust or would be frustrated with Stassi for having to keep shaking him off. Having a pitcher and catcher on the same page is important as the more communication they make, the easier it is for other teams to steal signs. Edit: If Stassi brought more to the table, I could see it being worth it to the Astros to try to work around whatever reason Verlander doesn't want to pitch to Stassi unless this is just a weird coincidence.
Why shouldn't the veteran, well respected, elder statesman pitcher have the wherewithal to work with the young catcher?
It isn't a matter of should or shouldn't. He doesn't appear to have it. Edit to clarify: Verlander does not appear to want to pitch to Stassi. I've seen nothing that indicates that Verlander has anything against actually young catchers in general.
Stassi is 28 years old and will probably never be an everyday starting catcher in the big leagues at this point. I don't think Verlander can't handle a young catcher... he just isn't a fan of Stassi.
This is why I could definitely see Lunow trade for a veteran backup catcher like he did with Maldano last yr, in addition to trading for another top tier and hopefully controllable starting pitcher. A guy like say, LuCroy
Looks like @MattJ_Sports had one posted on twitter at one point but it was taken down. https://twitter.com/search?l=&q=verlander stassi since:2018-07-10 until:2018-07-14&src=typd
He has absurd pop. Both HR's were on low and outside changeups. I'm excited to see what happens when he really gets into a heater.