Justin Verlander traded to Astros, reportedly preferred Cubs

Justin Verlander is headed to Houston after all.

Less than an hour after it was reported that Verlander had blocked a trade to the Astros, further reports said the deal did go through — minutes before the September 1 deadline.

Jon Morosi sheds some light on what may have occurred. He says Verlander preferred a trade to the Chicago Cubs and wanted to see if that could happen before accepting a trade to Houston.

#Cubs had been Verlander's first choice. He wanted to let that play out as long as possible. He agreed to #Astros deal at final minute. @MLB

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) September 1, 2017

The comment from Astros owner Jim Crane seems to confirm Verlander balked at first:

Jim Crane on Verlander: "He was a little reluctant and eventually made the right decision."

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) September 1, 2017

Fan Rag Sports’ Jon Heyman first reported the news of the trade. He says Franklin Perez, Daz Cameron and Jake Rodgers are going to Detroit as part of the deal. Perez is the highest-ranked prospect in the deal, while Cameron and Rodgers are among some of the better prospects in Houston’s system.

The Astros needed a boost to their pitching staff given the questions surrounding Lance McCullers and Mike Fiers. They also needed to show their players they were making efforts to hang with the other teams who had made deadline moves, such as the Nationals, Dodgers and Angels.

Verlander is owed $56 million over the next two seasons. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal speculates that the Tigers added a lot of money to help sweeten the deal for Houston, which could explain why the Astros sent them multiple prospects in return.

Verlander has been sharp in August, going 4-1 with a 2.36 ERA. He should provide a big lift for Houston entering the final month of the season.