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Astros News
Verlander will remain an Astro through 2021 after signing an extension with the club (Astros.com)
A move which answers some of the questions surrounding the rotation (The Athletic, $$$)
It also locks in an ace future hall-of-famer, which is never a bad thing (Texas Sports Nation)
After signing, JV called out extensions as the new way of doing business in MLB (ESPN)
You can check out his full comments from the signing announcement here (MLB Video)
There were also a couple of games this weekend, one of which Josh Reddick would sit out with a sore back (Houston Chronicle)
Houston may be a little weaker on paper this season, but it still has the inside track on the AL West (Forbes)
Hinch recognized Tony Kemp, Josh James, and Framber Valdez, who have all made their first Opening Day roster (Astros.com)
Valdez will start in the pen, but there are some who think he should be the 5th starter (House of Houston)
Another day, another 2019 Astros season preview (Yahoo Sports)
Robert Ford and Steve Sparks enter their seventh year as the combined voice of the Astros, where they’ve seen the team go from worst to first (Texas Sports Nation)
Around the League
With Opening Day fast approaching, the 1st power rankings of 2019 are coming out (MLB.com)
What does the Chris Sale extension mean for the future of Boston and MLB? (Sports Illustrated)
Syndergaard is not really liking how the Mets are treating deGrom (ESPN)
Forget last year’s title winners because if there’s one thing that’s hard to do in baseball, it’s repeating (Forbes)
Willians Astudillo is the avatar of every chubby dude who just wanted to play baseball (CUT4)
Baseball is a uniquely American experience that asks us to always be better (USA Today)