Two-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, who has pitched just six innings since the conclusion of the 2019 season due to 2020 Tommy John surgery, held a free-agent showcase this week. Representatives from as many as 15 to 20 teams this week, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post, adding that Verlander’s fastball was clocked from 94 to 97 mph. He’s presently about 13 and a half months out from the surgery and will be 17 months removed from the procedure by the time Spring Training is set to begin.
As one would expect, the list of known teams in attendance at the showcase includes a blend of big-market contenders and a few rebuilding clubs looking to turn the corner and get back into competitive ball. Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic tweets that the Yankees, Rangers and Tigers were in attendance. Sherman notes that the Mets had two scouts present for Verlander’s workout. TSN’s Scott Mitchell adds the Blue Jays to the pile, and the Post’s Ken Davidoff lists the Giants as another suitor. Angels GM Perry Minasian told reporters that the Halos had someone present to watch Verlander as well (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Sam Blum).
Of course, given the stage of the offseason we’re at, it’s safe to assume that virtually any team with a modicum of 2022 postseason hope and/or any actual money to spent this offseason was at least present to gauge Verlander’s readiness. As Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom asked rhetorically when confirming his club’s presence at the showcase (link via Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe): “Age might affect the term you consider, but if the present ability is there, why wouldn’t you be interested?”
By all accounts, the showcase went quite well. Beyond the multiple reports pegging Verlander’s velocity in the mid- to upper-90s, Sherman indicates that Verlander was able to throw all of his pitches and looked sharp across the board. Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle tweets that one scout offered a simple, two-word assessment of Verlander after watching his open audition: “He’s ready.”
It’s certainly worth noting that the showcase was held at the Cressey Performance Center — a facility run by Yankees director of health and performance Eric Cressey. Corey Kluber held his own showcase there last year and ultimately signed with the Yankees, but the mere location of Verlander’s workout doesn’t make a deal with the Yankees a foregone conclusion.
The Astros made a one-year, $18.4MM qualifying offer to Verlander over the weekend, but the widespread expectation is that he’ll reject that in search of a multi-year offer. Astros owner Jim Crane said last month that Verlander would likely be looking for a “contract of some length” in free agency, heavily implying at least a two-year term. Furthermore, hosting a showcase for two-thirds of the league is an obvious indicator that Verlander is interested in seeing what the market has to bear.
Verlander, 39 in February, didn’t pitch in 2021 and threw just six innings in 2020. Of course, in his last healthy season, he won the 2019 American League Cy Young Award after posting a 2.58 ERA in an MLB-best 223 innings with a huge 35.4% strikeout rate against a 5.0% walk rate. Verlander has said on multiple occasions in the past that he hopes to pitch well into his 40s.
what were the cardinals doing…..
By using trash cans?
Damn bro now that is comedy
Are you otherwise very productive in your day to day, just allowing yourself to post one useless thing online every 24 hrs? Or is this a sign of a larger problem?
(Tr)AsHTRoS lOsT tHe MuSt NoT bE ChEaTeRs.
your keyboard seems broken
The Angels lol!! Like they’d be in the market for actual starting pitching.
The Angels should strongly consider Verlander as a means of addressing both their annually awful pitching and the absence of proven leadership from the mound in Anaheim.
I dunno I think Verlander wants to play in the postseason so that probably rules out the Angels
Verlander is definitely not signing with the Angels. He’s trying to win. I see him going to the Padres or Giants–two win now teams with pitcher friendly environments.
That’s a fair point, Saint, but I think the Angels lack a General, so-to-speak. Trout’s not that guy, not right now. Verlander fixes a few issues if he can see past the confused nature of the Angels. He was eager to get to LA prior to the Astros trade, if the rumours were true, so it remains possible.
I certainly want to read more into the Cressey connection than is probably warranted.
But, man, would I love to see the Yanks sign Verlander. Obviously, our lineup would still need some work. But I would have no problem labeling our pitching staff – which is playoff caliber already – as championship caliber.
I do wonder how Hal/Cash will view guys with a QO attached this winter.
Agreed Bucky. Verlander could be what we hoped to get out of Kluber: A Cy Young candidate being paid a relatively small salary. Of course, that’s me getting my hopes up, but it’s very much possible Verlander comes back healthy and dominates the league again. If we signed him, we’d have three pitchers who could be Cy Young candidates; Cole, Verlander, and Sevy.
He will cost more than Kluber. & he may not sling a no-no for us. & Kluber is certainly a fine pitcher who has experienced all sorts of MLB success.
But.
Verlander is better. I feel he is also a much stronger “bounce back” candidate. Kluber is breaking down due to a series of arm injuries. Whereas Verlander has had “just” TJS.
Then factor in Montgomery, Taillon, & German whom all gave us 100-150 innings of above average ball. & Cortes outpitched them all! Some young arms to fill in (Schmidt, Gil, Deivi(?)) too.
With our bullpen that’s a helluva pitching staff.
Enthusiasm is fine, but you’re exaggerating, Ducky. Taillon pitched some great games in the second half, but it took him until July, understandably, to find his groove after a long layoff. And then he stumbled again in August. He proved to be a good gamble, all told. But his first-half ERA was 4.90. I’m hopeful he’ll pitch like a TOR starter in 2022 though.
As for German, he sucked as usual — a 4.58 ERA and a 4.31 FIP. They should trade him while there still might be trade partners under the illusion he’s good. Since 2018 there are only three qualified pitchers with a worse HR/9. Heaney wasn’t the only meatball server in the Bronx.
But Monty was good, he took a step forward. And Cortes was a revelation, but he’s still not stretched-out for an entire season and postseason.
Verlander — I get the appeal, of course. Not many résumés like his out there. But … 39 years old in February. I don’t care how godlike an athlete is, the body doesn’t heal as fast at that age and durability is questionable. How well will he recover after outings?
Schmidt, Gil, King — none of them are ready to pitch 160-180 innings either. I question the wisdom of doubling down on a gamble that didn’t pay off this year — I’m talking about Kluber surrounded by question marks. Even Cole didn’t make it to the finish line, and you want to repeat the same program that failed this year, with Boone having to cobble together a rotation with pitchers going down right and left?
To their credit, the staff kept it together better than we had a right to expect, and I give Matt Blake big props for that. He deserves a raise. The pitching was the only thing that kept the Yankees in it at all.
I just remember how I felt last year: “Oh, boy! Corey effin’ Kluber! Cy Young starter! I can’t wait to see him pitch! … oh, crap … he’s done for the season.”
If Verlander stays healthy and pitches at his 2019 level, he’ll be a great get. But that’s a very big “if.”
But I can easily see Cashman going that route. Verlander will be a lot cheaper than Ray.
Ducky: Not only that, but you also have the Cole connection. I’m sure Verlander would be a good addition, and frankly, better than Kluber. I’m good for a one-year deal on Rodon as well.
As far as the QO goes, I really think it will be inconsequential if he’s high on the guy. He doesn’t seem to let too much deter him from his targets. That said, if Seager wants 10 years, as much as I like him, that’s a hard pass for me.
Saeger was predicted an AAV of $30.5 mil.
The Yanks could bring back Rizzo, sign Marte, & trade for DeJong, & when figuring in the outgoing arb guys (Voit, Frazier, Wade) actually pay less in AAV. For far shorter commitments too.
Some years I prefer landing the Big Chinook. Other years I’d rather spread the money around & bring back a nice mixed bag. This offseason is the latter choice for me.
Yanks and Giants match up well… those arb guys are people I can see the Giants using, particularly Voit to platoon with Belt (Flores sucked against lefties last year, oddly)
Not saying he should be part of the trade, but could really see Alex Dickerson mashing for the Yankees as well
According to BTV, those players all have positive trade value. Albeit for < $5MM. Total. So not a lot.
But Voit especially I don't see any problems moving. Brewers & Padres come to mind as potential fits.
DBF, I don’t think Seager get’s 30 MM per. He’s a really good Player but not on that Level. I can see him getting 25 MM for 8 years.
I’m just using those numbers as they are the most easliy accessible, @Byron.
No matter the specifics, I feel the Yanks can upgrade 3 lineup spots for the cost of one big SS add. I also think that would be the more prudent choice for ’22.
I’m going devil’s advocate on this one and am going to disagree with my fellow Yankees fans.
With Taillon and Sevy on the roster, the Yankees need to stay away from a pitcher with questionable injury or coming off major injury issues.
To me, it’s too much like Kluber from last year.
Well, hell, @Joe. You’re kinda ruinin’ the vibe here, Lefty.
& I agree that we certainly have some injury concerns in the rotation. It doesn’t seem like Taillon will be available for Opening Day, for example/right away.
However, I don’t see Verlander quite the same way. He has been remarkably durable his entire career (valid counterpoint: lots & lots of innings). His only real injury was his UCL tear. & everyone seems to have at least one of those in their career. So recoveries do have a pretty high success rate.
Fair point Ducky. I guess it’s mostly that I’m all in on Robbie Ray to the Yankees.
Well…ya got me there, Joe.
If he has indeed found adequate control, I’ve a hard time arguing Verlander > Ray for 2022. The career BB% – though excellent for a hitter – is troubling for a pitcher, however.
But: he’s a Cy Young caliber pitcher when he controls those walks.
Convert Verlander into a closer.
I definitely see the temptation, @goastros123. But I keep him a starter where he probably has the most value.
DBF, I would love to see them sign him too. (3 yrs 54MM) Trade for Castillo or sign J. Gray. Tanaka is also a possibility to go with Verlander
Guess I don’t really see the need to add multiple starters this offseason. My guess is, Cash doesn’t either. For the first time in quite awhile our rotation (indeed the entire staff) is in pretty good shape for the coming season.
With so many needs in the lineup, I don’t think we will see much done with our pitching in general. One starter is my hope. & just running it back would be entirely defensible.
Man, the guy is just a winner and a competitor! If he can throw 94-97 mph in his late 30s with effective secondary pitches, he could be a #1 or #2 on almost every team. Would the Dodgers let Kershaw sign elsewhere and slot Verlander in his place?
This “winner” is 0-6 in 7 World Series starts and is such a “competitor” that he completely disappeared on his team/teammates this entire season because of his precious image.
@odd. I hadn’t really thought about Verlander not being around the team but thanks for that. Evidently Verlander blames it on him having to monopolize the team time but having to throw bullpen sessions. Seems like a excuse to me. Ronald Acuna Jr with the ACL surgery even showed up to be around the team in the postseason. Doesn’t look good for Verlander and after thinking about that I hope the Braves do NOT sign him. The only player with a QO attached I see the Braves signing is Freddie Freeman anyway.
You can really tell someone has no idea about anything related to baseball when they reference World Series stats as it they’re evidence of anything. Wow really good pitcher struggled against great teams in a extremely small sample size? No way!
Kershaw is only going to retire, or sign with Dodgers he is loyal to the Dodgers as they are with him. If the Dodgers were not in competition for WS would make him a possibility for another team
Would you give Verlander two years and pay a draft pick for him? He needs to have a lot in the tank for that.
Teams have paid more and gotten way less than what verlander will more than likely give them. There is also no gurantee the prospect they would have selected will make it to the big leagues… so yes I would take that gamble
That is if he actually gets a contract worth more than $50M. With all due respect, I highly doubt someone will offer that to Verlander.
JV at 39… probably only a team which is one SP away from WS may sign him.
Man I would love to see him in Boston next to Chris sale
If the Angels want a real shot next year, they go out and sign Verlander and Scherzer to 3 year deals and hope they can put it all together in 2022. Angels can’t worry about money or luxury taxes. They need to get pitching FULL STOP!
They should go after Ray
I think the Angels do sign either Ray, Scherzer, or Verlander– one of the three, and they trade for Luis Castillo, or someone in that realm. They can offer Jo Adell, and that will be very attractive. With the money they save they can then augment their bullpen and sign a productive league average outfielder, and shortstop.
I don’t see Verlander and Scherzer looking to team up again. I don’t believe they were too fond of each other when on the Tigers.
Given how starting pitchers don’t need to talk to each other it shouldn’t matter nor affect team chemistry.
I wonder if he could have potentially pitched for the Astros later in the postseason, if they had coordinated simulated games to get him ready. As a Braves fan, I’m sure glad they didn’t!
The Astros actually pursued that up until August when the doctor said it was too much of a risk.
I called BS on that report. The world series ended less than 2 weeks ago. You’re saying that between then and now he suddenly became ready to throw mid to upper 90s and all of his pitches?
With a large chunk of interest from various MLB clubs, I’ve learned that pitchers into their twilight of their careers tend to choose familiar locations. JV was born in Virginia, Kate Upton was born in Michigan, and they have several houses throughout the US but are based in Florida. None of that speaks west coast. So my guess he’s going to stay east coast (the workout facility is another clue) or at best middle of the country.
He’s coming back to his first baseball home!! He will be signing a two-year deal with the Tigers!! I’m thinking 2/$50!!
He will not. He has too many other options with teams in better climates with a chance to win.
Good thing the Tigers are into charity cases instead of winning
For a long time, I thought it was Astros, Tigers, or bust
I didn’t see Verlander as wanting to add a 3rd team to his legacy or look like a mercenary.
I still think that is valid, but no longer a deal breaker.
And based on comments from Jim Crane, I don’t think the Astros want him back, or at least not on a multi year deal
So I think the ball is in Detroit’s court. They can have him if they offer close to the other teams. I think years are more important than AAV.
If Detroit or any of 6-8 teams offer 3 years I think he takes it. But he will listen to everyone before deciding. It won’t be soon.
i’d say, some years would be more than two.
Hey, it was “heavily implied” that a contract of some length is at least two years. Are you suggesting that a ‘contract of some length’ could not imply just two years? The writer here understands a heavy implication of two years OR more was what the owner Crane wants us to understand. Not just two.
a couple is 2. a few is at least 3. some would be more than 2. some is more than one, years is plural, together that means more than two. otherwise, he would have said, a couple.
AJ Preller, the Padres Rockstar GM, will pay top dollar on a three-year contract player options, ignore a medical report that indicates that there is a minor tear that has been discovered and stop looking for any other pitching …
Looking at the list of age 39+ successful pitching seasons, other than Johnson & Clemens almost all of them were thumbers and none of them were hard throwers coming of a significant arm injury. If absolutely everything goes right a team has a slim chance of getting 39 & 40 year old John Smoltz production out of Verlander. A more reasonable best outcome might be a ≈ 2 war season if absolute perfect health occurs. The best predictor of future injury is past injury and I wouldn’t expect Veralnder to avoid injury over the next few years. Only a few teams can pay that kind of money and take on the risk of getting a near zero return. Only big money contenders will be in at this level of coin/risk + give up the draft pick.
I would be a hard pass too much of an injury risk
Much as I’d love to see the White Sox make a run at him, Detroit would be a lot of fun. Doubt it happens because they’re still at least a year from contending, but him teaching those guys what he knows, along with Barnhart working with them, could make that the best rotation in the division and one of the best in baseball. Plus, there’s the obvious homecoming angle.
I’ve got him going to the Padres in the free agent prediction contest. But the thing is, he probably won’t go to the Padres
Good on you to cover both outcomes. That way you can come back here and pretend like you predicted something correct.
Could be smart to wait until may/June once there’s no draft comp involved. Old man’s gotta stay fresh for the playoffs and would still get a 2yr 35-40mil deal.
Those deals rarely work for the team and generally just cost the player money. So it’s highly unlikely.
I think this is the case where the QO will hurt the player. Who wants to give up your draft pick and sign a pitcher coming off TJ entering his early 40’s? Don’t get me wrong. Justin Verlander is an incredible pitcher when he is on but can he be Randy Johnson and or Nolan Ryan?
It could be risky but really, what is the slot # of the draft pick? Are we looking at the first round or the 10th round? Even if it was the #1 pick, we’ve seen that those players don’t always pan out as they might in the NBA/NFL. As we’ve seen, there are even guys in their mid to late-20s who are not even close to being ready for MLB but still pitching because the team has nothing better to put out there or is tanking. Baltimore & Arizona come to mind. I would say, a contender might be willing to take the risk but not some team like Baltimore that is out of the race before the season starts.
It’s a huge deal to teams that’s why so many teams are staying away from those QO free agents. It handicaps your draft quite a bit when you lose that slot money. A team who is losing a QO and gets a pick back might be the best fit.
Risky
I say 2/45mm with a vesting option.
Wait…shouldn’t you be in Tahiti?
And where was the expert super scout, GM, manager AJ Preller?
Welp, welcome to the Rangers.
Are the yankees in on him I wonder
It’ll be interesting to see what the Tigers actually consider as being ‘willing to spend’. I think the Correa stuff is a dream, maybe under the regime of the elder Mr. I but I have an inkling it’ll be more manageable and frugal without him writing the checks. JV could be an easy gamble though. He will sell massive tickets in Detroit, and really engage a fanbase which has fallen dormant. I’m gonna guess Verlander and Baez will be their two big additions.
deGrom, Verlander, Syndegaard, Stroman
decent staff.
For the US team in the world baseball classic. Because all 4 of those guys are going to be playing for different teams.
What if Verlander pulled a Smoltz and finished his career as a closer?
He still think he can reach 300 wins.
Needs 74 Wins and will be 39 next season. Its not impossible just highly improbable after two wasted seasons. If health and ability permit it, if he pitches five more seasons and can average 15 wins per season he can do it, but more realistically he would have to pitch six or seven more seasons and average 12 wins per to do it.
Dear Farhan:
Notice that in the actual article, for the National League, you’re being mentioned as comparable to the Mets.
Jes Sayin’…
How about the Braves
The Mets probably shouldn’t go after players on the QO list. Since they didn’t sign Kumar Rocker last year and are getting #11 this year as a result, the #14 pick is the one they would lose to sign Verlander. They could concentrate on keeping their own starters and go after position players that are not affected by the QO.
That’s a good way to further deplete the farm system lol. They need both those picks and more importantly the slot money to make up for the debacle last year.
Kind of think he goes to Yanks with Cole but I hope not
Time for contraction. When an MLB team has to a firesale because they can’t afford $100M payroll, its time to cut bait. League could easily lose 4 or 6 teams and not lose a thing.
Why does a team need a 100 mil payroll?
So a week ago he was unable to pitch in the world series but now he’s good?
If the Angels sign him, they’d better hope he can at least give them what Bert Blyleven and Don Sutton gave them at the tail end of his careers. Same if they can actually sign Scherzer, which I think would be more of a Randy Johnson/Nolan Ryan comparison? ♂️
*their
He will return to Detroit
I want to see Bartolo Colon back in MLB. He pitched to a 6-2 record with Monclova in the Mexican league with a 4.55ERA 61ip 40k 5.9k9 still getting hitters out.
youtube.com/watch?v=d9tGnyEZHI0
I wouldn’t mind Verlander on the Sox but i think this was nothing more than due diligence on Bloom’s part because “age will not effect the term” enough to fit in Bloom’s comfort level. And it would only be worth losing the draft pick if he signs a multi-year deal which Bloom is also not likely to do
Were the Dodgers present at the showcase?
Not to beat a dead horse, but has anyone checked to see if he was a beneficiary of the spider tack like Cole? As a Yankee fan, I’m confident that Cole still has the ability to learn to pitch without it but, the numbers don’t lie, he’s just not as dominant. Verlander was on the same team at the time and experienced a crazy resurgence. I don’t have the same confidence he’ll come back with the similar dominance, so giving him anything over the QO seems risky.
Less than 6 innings – the man collected 66 million from the Astros and never showed up to help his teammates. Was there any insurance payout reason for that? Who would want that guy? Medically other players have returned to pitch in less time yet Verlander wasn’t available for a World Series. But miraculously healed in time for a showcase a week later. Just shocked and disillusioned by the apparent greed of one of the all-time greats. Crane gave JV the highest AAV for a SP ever and this is the gratitude he gets. Just very disappointing. I hope there is a different explanation.
What a poor comment.
Don’t make the mistake of underestimating the ability and longevity of a pitcher with a fresh UCL, especially one as talented and proven as Justin Verlander. Presuming he has a healthy shoulder to go along with his renewed UCL, every team should want him, and every fan should want him on their team. I’m not necessarily a Cardinals or Dodgers fan, but I think he’d look right at home winning 15-20 games per season with either of them.
Obviously not looking for any sympathy here as an Astros fan, but can’t help but wonder how the world series may have gone differently if he had sacked up and pitched. The world series started 15 days ago. Would it really have been that much of a risk to show off his stuff then, as opposed to now?
Fair question
He’s going to the Rays. Tom and Gisele set the precedent.
Jays will be in talks. A 3 year deal could work as in 3 years Vlad and Bo get expensive so a front loaded deal might be perfect. But dang is it a risk.