In a recent appearance on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight podcast, Astros GM Dana Brown said the club had been in contact with free agent right-hander Justin Verlander about a possible reunion. “We’ve had conversations with his agent [ISE’s Mark Pieper] just to try to feel him out. I don’t know if there’s been a lot of progress, but we’re having conversations,” Brown said.
Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t sound like either side is quite ready to make a move this relatively early in the offseason. As Brown noted earlier in the podcast, the Astros’ top priority at the moment is trying to re-sign Alex Bregman. That high-profile pursuit is taking much of the team’s focus, even if Brown noted that the club is doing its due diligence on other potential moves (such as finding another third baseman) as well.
“If [Verlander] continues to work and he’s healthy, it’s going to be interesting to see where he goes and how much he gets. But I’m sure there will be a bunch of teams calling the agent,” Brown said. This is perhaps reading too much into wording, but Brown’s phrasing almost seemed to imply more of an arm’s length approach, as if the Astros were more curious spectators to Verlander’s market than active participants.
Verlander turns 42 in February, but he made it clear following the season that he wanted to return in 2025, and rebound from an injury-marred 2024 campaign. The right-hander was limited to 90 1/3 innings due to a pair of injured-list stints prompted by shoulder injury and then neck discomfort. The latter injury was particularly troublesome, as Verlander missed about 2.5 months due his neck issue and didn’t pitch well after he returned, leaving him feeling like he probably tried to come back too quickly. The end result was a 5.48 ERA, the highest of Verlander’s career apart from the 7.11 ERA he posted over an 11 1/3-inning sample size in his very first Major League season in 2005.
It was just two seasons ago that Verlander won his third AL Cy Young Award, and in 2023, Verlander was still solid with a 3.22 ERA over 162 1/3 innings with the Mets and Astros. A case can certainly be made that Verlander has more to contribute if healthy, and the righty has already defied Father Time once by delivering that last Cy Young campaigns after a Tommy John surgery cost him virtually all of the 2020-21 seasons.
That said, nobody would be surprised if age and injuries simply caught up to Verlander, and 2023 was really his last hurrah as a productive starting pitcher. As Brown noted, Verlander’s track record alone will lead to interest from multiple teams, but is understandable if the Astros were ready to move on rather than risk being left holding the bag if Verlander declined further.
Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Ronel Blanco, and Spencer Arrighetti are lined up as the top four of Houston’s rotation, and the in-house candidates for the fifth starter’s role all come with big health-related question marks. Lance McCullers Jr. has missed the last two seasons due to injuries, Luis Garcia hasn’t pitched since May 2023 due to a Tommy John surgery and a couple of setbacks, J.P. France missed most of 2024 due to shoulder surgery, and Cristian Javier had a TJ surgery last June and isn’t guaranteed to pitch at all in 2025. Adding a reliable veteran arm to the mix certainly makes sense for Houston, though Verlander might not fit the bill given his own health status.
First team to offer him 2 years wins. He knows he’s about to sign his last contract
No one’s giving him 2 years bud
Astros are a perfect fit as a low risk SP5 innings eater
I didn’t say anyone was giving him 2 years I said if someone does they win no matter who.
2 years @ 42, the injuries and lack of production? I bet you are about to file bankruptcy, the way you spend money.
42 mil??? For a 42 year old starter???
JV isn’t coming off a cy young this time around, he’s looking at Paul Goldschmidt money so 1 year 10 mil
I meant 2 years at 42 years old, not 42 mil
sad – That’s incorrect. Albert wrote “2 years @ 42” which means $42M each year, not combined.
If he had meant combined, he would have written “2 years @ $21M”.
But I agree with you, either way it’s an absurd and baseless projection.
Albert – There’s no way Verlander is getting $84M for 2 years.
Yes I understand he got paid $43.33M this year, and the same amount last year. That was a MUCH different situation. He was coming off a season in which he pitched 175 innings with a 1.75 ERA. Cohen was a fool to give him that contract at Age 40.
No team will be that foolish now. He had a 5.48 ERA this year and pitched only 90 innings. His WHIP was 1.384
Can you freaking read?
Id say the Mets won at the end because they paid like 50 million to get drew Gilbert and Ryan clifford
His goal is 300 Wins and i think next season will go a long way to determining if he gets there as he knows he may be the last Pitcher for a very long time to accomplish the feat. I think a series of rolling one year contracts with the Astros is probably not out of the question
Rsox – No pitcher will ever win 300 again unless MLB institutes rules that forces teams to go back to the way starting pitchers were meant to be managed.
Cole has just 59 wins over the past 5 seasons. Even if he pitches 10 more years, you’re talking about 270 wins for him.
Sale would need to win 23 games every year from 2025 thru his Age 42 season, obviously that won’t happen.
And how pathetic is it that Sonny Gray is 3rd in career wins by an active pitcher!
He needs 38 wins….not going to happen
13 Wins in each of the next 3 seasons is not unattainable if health permits
Rsox – Can you name ANY pitcher during the last decade who has won 39 games over a 3-year period while being older than 41? I’ll give you a hint, Rich Hill won a combined total of 16 games from Age 42-44.
Times have changed, relievers win a lot more games than they used to …. which means starters win a lot fewer.
I didn’t say it was probable, but it’s certainly not impossible
Rsox – Okay I get it. You mean possible as in my chances of having a love child with Gisele ;o)
He’s 42 it’s his last season.
300 wins is not possible in any way
More realistically he could pass Walter Johnson and Gaylord Perry in all-time K’s
Verlander likely only does damage to his career numbers at this point.
But needs 75 K’s to cement himself top 10 in K’s without Scherzer knocking him down to number 11
That’s possible, needs two 15 win seasons, I’d squeeze him deep on the pay though for that two year deal, could be a bargain.
He needs 38 wins…needs more than 2 15 win seasons. He has 262 career wins. Odds are not good for 300 wins at his age.
If he gets 30 wins in the next two seasons I’d imagine he’ll get the rest of the wins after the ’26 season concludes. Has to give it two seasons and see where he stands prior to ’27. As such and considering the less than stellar ’23/’24 campaigns, he’s potentially a bargain because I’d be looking at 2 yrs / 20M with some kickers for IPs / Ws / K’s – could be a real sweet deal, you know the guy is motivated to win games.
miller – But is 300 really that big a deal anymore? If he doesn’t reach it, he can still claim being the last to win 280 or 290 …. right?
I just don’t see it being that big a deal to him. He still wants to play and compete, it’s in his blood. The money helps too.
I feel like knowing he could potentially be the last guy to do it might be a motivating factor to keep going. It’s not like 500 HR”s or 3000 Hits where you know many others will get there after you
I would only be pitching at 42 to get to 300, it’s a milestone without question that is worth pitching for, I’d pitch to 45 or 46 if I still had the arm and could compete as one of the best 100 or so pitchers in MLB. 299 isn’t the same in some weird way, still HOF no question about it, but to win 300 is a special thing.
For it to be done again you’d have to imagine a team willing to let a pitcher go every four days. I could see it happening, if a player wanted to play for the record and take a pay cut. 1 year deals at 5M per season, 40 starts a year, and even then it’s unlikely. But if a player wanted to pitch under those terms, how would it be a loss for a team if he goes out a proves that he is capable of carrying that load? That would be a huge boon for a team.
Oh ya just 15 wins in back to back seasons to set him up for a chance age 44 lol
Since 15 win seasons are so easy to get that only like 20% of pitchers reach that mark yearly..
It’s about the k’s and potentially another ring.
(Probably also just trying to pitch 1 more season in general)
He’s not getting 300 wins unless they use Ai to bring him back in his prime
If he doesn’t pass Walter Johnson then Scherzer is going to bump him to #11 all time. He needs about 75 k’s which is very likely in any role especially if he starts off in the rotation
Jaime Moyer won close to 70 games after age 42, Charlie Hough won around 40 games after age 42, Cy Young, Nolan Ryan, it can be done. Moyer pitched to 47 years old and was still tallying wins, if he has the meddle and the arm holds up, he can get the 39 wins.
I don’t think he cares about the wins
miller – Starting every 4 days is not an option. Not just because at his age he will require EXTRA rest all year instead of short rest, but because it would totally mess up the other pitchers in the rotation.
Let’s say JV pitches Sunday and then Thursday, the guy who follows him on Monday won’t be available until Saturday. So you need a spot starter for Friday.
Then the Tuesday starter pitches Sunday, the Wednesday starter would have his start delayed until Tuesday because JV would start Monday, and on and on it goes.
So even if JV could physically handle pitching every 4th day (not a chance), no team would mess up the entire remainder of the rotation just so he can try to reach a milestone.
miller – Moyer was 42 in 2005.
Hough was 42 in 1990.
Ryan was 42 in 1989.
Young was 42 in 1909. He won 511 games in his career, because he did does that mean you think JV can do it too?
The whole discussion here is about nobody winning 300 again because the game has changed so much.
You think JV’s next manager will manage like it’s the 20th century? Really?
I wouldn’t put JV down for starting every four days at 42.
Starting every fourth day was an idea Bauer put out there a while back in one of his interviews, and I liked the idea because I believe there are pitchers who are capable of handling the workload effectively, but as a team you’d be risking the money you layout on the contract because injury risk would be significantly greater, It’s unlikely but it’s interesting and could be a big advantage to a ball club willing to take a risk on a player who is up to the challenge. Have to be a creative contract to manage the injury risk, heavily based on performance kickers.
Teams used to work in four man rotations, I don’t recall what era or when the five man rotations became a standard thing across the league, Ill have to research that one.
Winning 15 games a season for 20 seasons is still possible in the five man rotation, have to play for a winning team, avoid missing time due to injury, and maintain your ability to get hitters out for two decades. It’s unlikely to see another player approach the record but not impossible. Likely have to pitch from age 21 to age 45 or 46, like JV is going to have to do if he goes to get 300. It’s an amazing feat, one worth pushing for, so hopefully as a fan we see JV back with the Astros.
Miller – The 1970s is when the 5-man became the norm.
I appreciate what you’re saying, but one of the biggest differences from 20+ years ago is they used to pitch 7+ innings a lot more often back then. Now with analytics and the 8-man bullpen it’s far more common for them to pitch 5-6 innings. That difference results in a lot fewer decisions going to SP and a lot more going to RP.
As further proof, only 11 pitchers in MLB won at least 15 games this year and only 8 pitchers did it last year.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Looking at the numbers of some of the greats from my lifetime. I’m 45 this year, so got to watch some of the best, Clemens, Johnson, Glavine, Maddux are the four pitchers who got to 300, surprised to see Bert Blyleven up there with a sneaky ~280. Smoltz could of got there had he not spent 4 seasons in the bullpen. Kershaw statistically has maybe pitched as good or better than all of them, he is 36, could potentially get to 300 if he can stay healthy and pitches another seven or eight seasons, which is highly unlikely, but possible. Maddux crushed on average 18 wins a season 18 seasons in a row, bulldogged them. Great stuff.
I don’t see Kershaw pitching more than maybe 2 more seasons but he was on a strong course before the injuries started wiping out significant parts of his seasons
Blyleven had nine shutouts in ’73, the CG is a complete goner and its unfortunate. As a pitcher you used to go out with the mindset of throwing nine, getting the win, getting the SHO and those are great games to be a part of as a player and a fan. Locking down a CG to me is awesome, a SHO right up there with a No Hitter, but moneyball being what it is forces teams to take precautions with players. It don’t really make sense, if Blyleven can throw nine SHO’s in ’73, well his arm held up, but I guess it takes more to get today’s hitters out, more Velo, more sweep on the breaking ball, more torque on the old elbow. Don’t know for sure how much of it is dogma and how much of it is truly related to a pitchers arm being under more duress but I tell you this, if I’m managing a game, and my starter has seven shut out innings in, he’s pitching until a run crosses the plate, I dont care if he has to throw 140 pitches or if we lose the game, because it’s the Big SHO! Let’s get it!
Happy Thanksgiving!
What type of conversation?
Asking him if he’s willing to try working out of the bullpen.
Ala John Smoltz & Eck. Why not? Toss 3-4 innings per week as a closer or set up guy.
Verlander will never agree to toss 3-4 innings per week or be summoned to the bullpen.
Verlander doesn’t have closer stuff or high leverage inning pitcher stuff anymore. He’s a five and diver. About hitting his spots at 91 mph. He is a #5 starter, if anything.
The reason verlander is still pitching is to be the last starter ever to get 300 wins
@sad I think him and Scherzer both trying to entrenched themselves in top 10 All Time Ks. Right now only 1 of them makes list. They both can quote reasonably end up 7th and 8th. That allows a bit of a cushion as well for those who might one day join the ranks of the top 10.
I do think he was eyeing 300. But that might ve slipped away the last 2 seasons.
Sadly he won’t get another 20 win season to shorten the gap but if he pitches 4 seasons of 10 wins then he’s got it
Verlander is 38 Wins away from 300. Zero chance he agrees to be a reliever anywhere
38 wins would take him 5 seasons minimum
Whyyyyyyyy?????
42 yrs old, coming off the worst season of his career, whats he got left to prove?? just go on vacation with your supermodel wife and wait for the HOF call . he is 1st ballot
He loves the competition. That never goes away. He doesn’t want to walk away on such a clunker. Decent chance he rebounds some from 2024, but peak Verlander is in the rear view mirror.
i love that type of player who always grinds his way to victory. his comeback from TJ was epic. but if i were him i’d never wanna leave kate hahaha i’d spend all day at home….
also he doesnt have to walk away from the game completely, im sure he could be a pitching coach somewhere
@johncoltrane
It’s your perception he wants to pitch because he has something left to prove. I doubt that’s his motivation. He’s a self-motivated professional, comfortable in his skin. He loves to pitch and compete. At 42, he remains willing to put himself through the physical and mental ardor of pitching in the majors because he wants to do it rather than being driven by inadequacy. Nolan Ryan and Bartolo Colon are examples of similar.
Verlander joins a long line of guys who wouldn’t read the writing on the wall. Nothing left in the tank. Kershaw is about to join those ranks. Sad.
Then he should have walked away before HE became a clunker.
Exactly. I’m sure top 10 in K’s is on his mind.
But mostly this is about a top competitor trying to rebound from a tough rehab season
Retiring to your hot wife actually isn’t as cool as traveling the country with a bunch of fun guys
Long life to just sit around at home at 42.
@metsin4,
As long as he’s healthy and effective, and has the support of his family to continue, he gets to choose what he wants to do. Some players hang it up in their 30’s or early 40’s to be a more active parent and/or partner even though they have more in the tank and drive.
He’s neither.
Him and Scherzer are nose and nose for 10th all time in Ks. I don’t see either leaving til they surpass Johnson and Perry. Sutton is not far ahead of them either. They have a good shot of ending 7th and 8th all time. Verlander has spoke of the history of the game on numerous occasions so I don’t see him not eyeing this.
The reason him and Scherzer will go in on their first ballots is the very reason they still want to pitch. They are both competitors as someone else mentioned here. As well as love of the game. If he can add some value to a team and be a positive veteran presence for young pitchers, he can still add value for another season or 2.
It’s a long shot, but 300 wins is sort of within reach. He would likely be the last pitcher to ever do it. 262 wins now. For comparison’s sake, Randy Johnson had a 5.00 ERA in his age 42 season and ended it with 280 wins. Pitched three more years to get to 300. Wouldn’t be surprised if Verlander has that in the back of his mind. If he comes out in 2025 and stinks or injures himself, he’ll probably retire. But if he pitches well and gets 10-12 wins, I bet he pushes himself.
@rct I definitely think he’s cognizant of 300. The last 2 seasons tho probably were where that’s gotten a bit hard to attain. I agree tho if he pitches well and puts himself within reach I to think it ll motivate him to keep going.
I dunno if his wife wants to go on vacation with him. Did you see her cryptic post on X last week? TMZ even reported on it.
No I haven’t seen the post. But at end of day if a woman can’t stand by as a man fulfills his dreams that’s a point where one has to possibly rethink things.
The guy can’t pitch a few years retire under the age of 45 with wealth most could only dream of. I’d say at end of day she ll support him if it means that much to him. I’m sure they ve been on plenty of decent vacations throughout his career.
JV is like Tom Brady, there is no such thing as enough baseball
JV will do anything possible to get 300 wins even divorce probably
In Brady’s case divorce was coming anyways. His wife was getting plowed by tennis instructor. If a woman can’t stand by as a man chases his dreams, goals, passion, etc.. then maye she’s not the one. These guys still do or will retire long before most can dream of. And very few can even conceive having their wealth.
He was her and the kids martial arts instructor not tennis but hey let’s not let the facts get in the way of something you don’t know for a fact lol
For Brady it most ve been so satisfying as she got curb stomped at his roast. He raked in a ton of $ and he got barbed a bit, but she took the biggest shots. I found it a poetic bit of karma for that cheating wh@$#.
@Tigers3232
Lmao! jeez Bro. Do we really know she was all that and he wasn’t?! Neither one of them hurting.
Well she was outed publicly along with, as well as being publicly critical of him continuing his career. If he was guilty of any misdeeds he at least kept it private.
Yeah her net worth exceeds his I’m sure she’s mortified over some roast jokes…
I’d gladly get paid to sit and hear my ex torn apart
I’d love to see JV reach 300 bec he’ll be the last to ever do it. But he needs 38 wins. He’d have to play 3-4 more healthy yrs to get there. I dont see it happening
Well at least his rotary phone won’t lose service during discussions.
Damn_Yankees: What a dumb “joke,” if you can even call it that. Even people twice his age don’t use rotary phones.
@Blue Baron
I still have mine. Work great. Better than the new-fangled junk they sell nowadays!
You still have a landline? You do you realize it’s 2024, right?
@laynestaley2002
Rotary phone. You do realize it’s 2024, right?
Why are you so mad, blue? Is it because of red?
Blue is always mad. All his comments are negative and he’s just here to stir the pot. Once you catch onto his shtick it’s easy to overlook.
Crane can’t quit JV.
Verlander owes them Come back on a club friendly deal, and go for being the last 300 game winner.
He has 262 wins. How the heck is he gonna get to 300?
Not likely that he will, but I’ll bet he won’t completely embarrass himself in 2025. If Giants don’t sign a top of rotation guy, I could see them bringing Verlander in for one last season like they did with Randy Johnson.
And he’d be a great mentor to all those young, excellent Giant arms.
@ Pete’sView Correction: he could make a great mentor. Don’t know that he would. Have we ever read anywhere about his mentoring younger players? Nothing he did in NY showed any signs of him caring much about anything other than his own performance. That ’23 Mets team was desperate and starved for some kind of leader to step up. He and Scherzer were the most seasoned, most accomplished, and had the most experience on contenders. And neither of them said or did anything. They just coasted like prima donnas and assumed that their talent would eventually yield better results.
By winning 38 more games?
After his age 41 season Randy Johnson had 263 wins. So it is possible lol
Verlander doesn’t owe anyone anything. He fulfilled his part of the contract, which nobody forced the Astros to sign.
Just crossing some “t”s here: the Astros didn’t sign the contract, they traded for him. That said, they knew the terms when they made the deal.
The debate is: with Verlander not pitching enough innings to trigger the vesting option on 2025, did the Stros get off easy? Or did they want him to A) be healthy enough as it wouldve helped them, win, AND the Mets would’ve been paying half of that salary? Or did the Stros not want to pay the other half at $17.5 million?
The Astros and Mets both lucked out.
If Verlander is indeed a hope for Houston with Lance McCullers Jr. Still injury issue. Has not pitched and I mean pitched strong since WS in 2017.
We had short seasons with Covid and then after that he was hurt and briefly pitched in 2022 and was ok during regular season part but not great
The WS game he pitched was definitely not great. Luis Garcia injury issues, France and Javier lucky if may pitch this season ahead. They dumped Urquidy so do need some help there.
Third base is a big issue. First may go with Singleton again and Caratini.
Outfield myself Chas and Meyers is not good. Neither is a blockbuster. Chas stunk last season maybe a change of scenery would have done him good. Meyers is a closer for the 9th as he only has D to help him. Started last season great first 2 or 3 months then flopped the rest.
Whether keep Tucker beyond this upcoming season is anyone’s guess. But probably won’t be much activity till next year. IF lucky anything happens with teams during winter meetings and such even.
Probably when Soto signs, maybe more will fall. Then rest after holidays.
Of names really Snell, Soto and Bregman are ones really hearing on or teams having talked too. Bregman don’t think they have talked to other teams just to get a feel.
Verlander will NOT come out of bullpen but maybe a one year deal with heavy on incentives or such. I do not think Verlander has much left. Like it said maybe 2023 was his last good year.
Like with Brantley they brought him back too soon after his shoulder surgery and he had nothing so retired. Verlander at 42 not sure what he has left. Even Scherzer I think he is 40 and he was injury prone last season. Is that a sign for him.
But I hope something perhaps happens soon one way or the other as far as Bregman. Who they use to replace him unsure
Tigers should have interest if the price is right
Agree. Finishing off his career in Detroit just seems right.
Nah. They need younger.
Love to see him comeback to Detroit for a last few seasons. Would be cool to see him in the Old English D once again
My money is on Detroit signing him.
I can tell you this he will only go to big market so Houston, Yankees, Dodgers , Red Sox
Yankees, Dodgers, and Red Sox all have their own old cranks to deal with in Cole, Kershaw, and Giolito.
Verlander retired about 8 years ago, right?
Verlander is perfect for a team with young pitching in the minors that’s a year away. I wouldn’t do the deal if I was Houston, but a Kansas City or Tampa? Two teams that could contend but still has youth maybe a year or two away from being impactful. Teams that could use a veteran leader to teach young pitchers how to grind.
@ kingbum That speaks to a concept that is not necessarily a reality. Why would you assume that Verlander is interested in teaching anyone anything? He showed no inclination towards leadership or mentorship when he was with the Mets. Did he mentor any of the younger pitchers who replaced him and other injured Astros pitchers last year?
Ya gotta tell him ya paying him for that and not so much field production anymore. The organization has to make it known and let him decide if that is what he wants.
He should have to pay to play
I love JV, but I’ll say it; if he wants to get top dollar, get lost. The Astros gave up their top two prospects to get him back, he was mediocre last year and a total waste this year. If he isn’t willing to sign a cheap one year bounce-back deal with the team to make it up to them, if he doesn’t feel like he owes them that, despite being stupid rich already, despite all his talk of loving Houston and wanting to stay, then get lost. So somewhere else and make a few more dollars you’ll never be able to spend I guess.
You’re right, Astros don’t deserve Verlander, therefore, I wish him all of the best to reach 300 wins,preferably against Houston.
First off, if Brown’s lips are moving, he is lying. Second, the Astros have much greater needs than .Verlander returning. I would go so far as to say if they bring him back, they are not really serious about the 2025 seasson.
Astros_fan_in_Aus;
Love your posts.
Don’t know why Brown won’t turn the page. The Astros made the playoffs but the embarrassed themselves. This aging dynasty thing about getting to one last WS never happens. The Astros need to get younger, Period.
I think they’re trying to hold onto Bregman thinking that if he goes, Valdez and Tucker follow him out after next year.
A couple of issues regarding Bregman’ situation…..
Why would he sign up long-term if he can go to a situation like Detroit or Boston with a number of good young players coming up that will be under team control for years? What it he re-signs with the Astros, then Valdez and/or Tucker leave
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As for Valdez and Tucker…..
Say they get the big money. Then Yordan Alvarez will ask for a kings ransom. Shortly after that Hunter Brown and possibly Spencer Arrighetti follow.
The Astros need an influx of young star players.
–
The Astros situation is why Mark Elias won’t trade his abundance of top prospects with the Orioles. Dynasty’s have to keep regenerating. James Click may have won a WS, but he didn’t keep the ball rolling by replenishing the minor league system. Rather he lived off of what Luplow, Elias and Sig left him. Exactly the same thing John Mozeliak did with the Cardinals when those 3 gentlemen left that franchise.
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Signing or not signing Bregman won’t change what’s happening. Brown and his staff need to address the issue. Bringing in quality young players under team control for years.
Lot’s of spelling errors.
Sorry.
Tired.
“That high-profile pursuit is taking much of the team’s focus” I find it difficult to believe that in 2025, a baseball team isn’t able to pursue multiple signings concurrently
Why?? When does his Medicare kick in?
Verlander’s allegiance to the Stros is just annoying at this point. He’s cooked – just admit the talks are for keeping Kate happy at this point.
What’s with all the negative comments in this thread? Justin Verlander had accomplished more by age 25 than his critics here will in their entire lives.
I remember his critics back in ’08 when he had that one bad year by his standards.
Remember the people on here who called Ohtani and Vladdy Jr. busts? How about the Mets fans who moaned about Lindor’s albatross contract?
El Kabong, EXACTLY! If I were an Astros fan I’d be thanking JV for what he brought you when he was at his best, A WORLD SERIES TITLE! Dude won a Cy Young Award at the age of 39 for God’s sake! Without him on that staff, there is no way you’d have won, period. And now that he is starting to resemble a 40 year old pitcher, he owes it to you as a franchise to take a 1 year, incentive laden BS contract? Tell you what, throw him out like trash and let him come to Detroit where there is plenty of young talent on the roster rather than staying on an aging, injury-prone team like the Stros. Sometimes fans have it so good that you don’t even realize what you have right in front of you. He was probably the best pitcher of a generation, and HE OWES YOU? Come on man…..
Putting feelings aside, sometimes it’s just time to move. This should likely extend to Bregman as well.
Hahaha!
Justin is looking to start both the regular-season game and the old-timers’ game on the same day.
Jays 5th?
I bet the conversation was short.
Would be great to see Justin Verlander top off his Hall of Fame career in a Detroit Tigers uniform.
They won’t give him 40M a year.
But, the could come up with a reasonably competitive offer
( 1 year with mutual options for year 2 or 3)…
He has yet to prove that he has completely recovered from the surgery he had in 2023.
If JC decided he can live with out Verhandler in the 2025 season, hopefully it will be an incentive heavy agreement that their GM can negotiate (thank goodness theirs on in place). In addition, hopefully, the club realizes that McCullers will never pitch in the majors again. Despite the fact someone made a horrible deal signing him prior to his surgery, understanding the severity of the procedure.