Astros Crawfish Boil: November 17, 2016

Astros News

Astros sign Charlie Morton | MLB.com
HOUSTON -- The Astros added some depth and experience to their starting rotation mix on Wednesday by reaching a two-year deal with free-agent right-hander Charlie Morton, who was injured most of last season. The deal is worth $14 million for two years, a source told MLB.com, plus incentives that could pay Morton as much as $9.5 million for each of the two seasons ($19 million total) if he reaches 30 starts yearly. He made a career-high 29 starts in 2011 for the Pirates.

Astros sign free agent starter Charlie Morton - Houston Chronicle
Charlie Morton was pitching against the Yankees in a Grapefruit League game early last March when he first realized the difference. After each of the first two pitches he threw in a Phillies uniform, he glanced back to the scoreboard to see readings of 94 and 95 mph.

How Astros justify $14M for subpar, injury-prone starting pitcher | New York Post
Charlie Morton pitched 17 1/3 innings last year before tearing his hamstring and being lost for the season. Before that, he had pitched eight seasons in the majors, seven with a Pirates team that has specialized in reviving pitching careers, and yet only once did he have an ERA above average while factoring for the league and ballparks. He turned 33 Saturday and has been injury prone throughout his career.

MLB Rumor Central: Yankees, Astros at impasse in McCann trade talks? - MLB Rumor Central- ESPN
Trade talks between the Yankees and Astros involving Brian McCann reportedly have stalled.

MLB News

Happy ‘Mike Trout Is Probably Getting Hosed Again’ Day! - SBNation.com
Thursday’s Say Hey, Baseball previews the MVP awards, recaps the Cy Young, and talks Braves’ offseason decisions.

Max Scherzer wins 2nd career Cy Young Award - SBNation.com
Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer on Wednesday won the 2016 National League Cy Young Award, the sixth person to win the award in both the American and National Leagues.

Kate Upton to MLB: 'I thought I was the only person allowed to f*** Justin Verlander’ - SBNation.com
The feud between baseball writers and supermodels continues with no end in sight.

Rick Porcello wins American League Cy Young Award - Over the Monster
Rick Porcello performs his own worst-to-first turnaround, taking the American League Cy Young Award for 2016