There hasn’t been much public buzz about Justin Verlander’s market as the three-time Cy Young Award winner prepares for his 20th Major League season, yet business may be starting to pick up. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (video link) reports that “multiple teams [are] interested in” the right-hander, and that Verlander and former teammate Max Scherzer are in pretty similar situations as veteran stars looking for one-year contracts as they look to rebound from injury-shortened 2024 seasons.
Verlander tossed only 90 1/3 innings last season, and he didn’t make his 2024 debut until April 19 after a shoulder problem limited him during Spring Training. That relatively minor issue was overshadowed by a neck injury in June that ended up sidelining him for over two and a half months, and Verlander then struggled to an 8.10 ERA in 33 1/3 frames after being activated from the injured list in August. Discussing his health situation with reporters in late September, Verlander said “I think I came back from the neck injury a little fast….I want to be an asset for this team. And to do that, I needed to be able to pitch and find out where I’m at. Obviously, the results have not been good. But there’s nothing you can do besides trying to pitch.”
The good news is that Verlander is now “in great shape,” according to Morosi, as the future Hall-of-Famer heads into his age-42 season. Verlander has a well-earned reputation as a workhorse over his outstanding career, yet inevitably, more health issues have developed as he has gotten older. Verlander missed virtually all of the 2020-21 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery, he missed a couple of weeks during the 2022 season due to a calf injury, and a teres major strain kept him on the shelf for over the first month of the 2023 season.
The latter two of those injuries, to be fair, didn’t keep Verlander from tossing 337 1/3 total innings in 2022-23, plus 38 1/3 more frames in the playoffs. His 2022 season in particular saw the righty deliver one of his best seasons, as he posted a 1.75 ERA while leading Houston to a World Series championship. Verlander took a slight step backwards in 2023 but still had a 3.22 ERA in 162 1/3 combined innings with the Mets and Astros.
Even at age 42, Verlander has plenty of upside, as he has shown that he can still be an effective arm as long as he is healthy. Obviously his health status is more of a question mark considering what happened in 2024, yet on paper, even serious neck soreness probably isn’t as big of a red flag to teams as something like an elbow or shoulder injury. It probably isn’t a surprise that Verlander’s market has started to heat up as we get later into the offseason, and teams have had more time to both evaluate his medicals and to monitor the pitching market as a whole after several other free agents and trade targets have come off the board.
Morosi didn’t cite any specific teams that were considering Verlander, though any number of clubs could be a fit due to the ever-present need for pitching. It can be assumed that Verlander is prioritizing joining contending teams, and Morosi’s suggestion that Baltimore could be a fit might no longer apply, as Morosi’s report was filed before the Orioles announced their one-year deal with Charlie Morton. The Astros are the only team known to have interest in Verlander’s services, as GM Dana Brown said in November that he’d “had conversations” with Verlander’s agent.
Padres…
“Verlander, 41, is coming off an uncharacteristically poor season that saw him post a 5.48 ERA (72 ERA+) across 17 starts. Pitch-quality models continue to be high on his arsenal, however, and teams are no doubt viewing him as a rebound candidate who could slot into the middle of their rotation on a one-year agreement.”
Exactly
Padres do not have the cash for even Verlander. They are already $2m over-budget.
These articles written about Scherzer and Verlander are planted by their agents.
Same as the story about the Angels having interest in Alonso.
Certainly not the fault of MLBTradeRumors! Just posturing by the agents. #Sad.
The Padres aren’t $2M over budget, we don’t know what their budget is, unless you have some inside scoop to share? They are projected, all things remaining static, and they won’t, to be $3M over the first tier of the CBT.
Multiple teams have interest in both. No need to “plant” stories.
Yes, teams go to mlbtraderumors.com to see what players are available and get information.
@Buckner,
Not as sad as the conspiracy theory tellers which it appears you are among them.
Brew- nobody really knows what their budget is but they have been reports they will not go over the tax line. So I guess that is your inside scoop.
Of course who knows what is true but the reports they were cutting payroll last year became true.
@Simm. The Pads FO has apparently told some reporters, such as Acee, that they would again strive to stay under the first tier CBT, but FO was also directly quoted as saying if the right move were needed, they would consider exceeding it. Given that, I don’t think we can say anything definitive, thus my response to Jeremy 320 above.
By the way, I recall in 2021 and 2022 they were actually saying the same thing about striving to stay under the CBT. The question is was last year a wise reset on CBT, or sign of long-term avoidance, and we won’t know until we know..
Yeah that’s the big question. The only way they are staying under this year is by moving some players. Even if it’s just to get some role players.
Giants #5. #2 by May
They both need to head back to Detroit and finish up their hall of fame careers.
I’d give up my third nipple for them both to return to Detroit
4th here*
Deeeeeeetroiiiiiitttt
Didn’t work out well for the Mets
Aug 01, 2023
Traded to Houston (HOU) from New York (NYM) for Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford
Might work out fine. What’s a few tens of millions between friends?
It’s not a few. The salary that the NYM picked up was taxed at 110%, costing them about $65M last year. Even billionaires wince at numbers like that.
They both worked out just fine for the Mets. They both pitched to expectations and reloaded the farm.
It never does.
No thank you. If we weren’t contending ok but not now. We’re in a youth movement. No time for nostalgia.
Not a tigers fan, but with all due respect you’ve got pitchers on the 40 man who are not exactly young kids and who JV and Max would absolutely be an upgrade on, even in their diminished capacity. It makes a lot of sense tbh (especially in a division with at least one punching bag team). And it would be a great story.
JV can be our pitching coach if Fetters moves on.
Fetters has been amazing. He is in no way the pitcher Verlander has ever been, but coaching is not something everyone excels at. Fetters however seems to have that touch and the results have spoke for themselves.
..as much of an upgrade as Miguel Cabrera was
I could not see Verlander making a good coach.
I’d like to see this.
They could both hunker down at dan campbell’s new spread
Could this be an AA signing?
AA is scraping under the bottom of the barrel, for all of his signings. If he didn’t bring back Morton at what was 15mill, I doubt Verlander signs for less.
I imagine AA was also looking at Morton’s possible future production adjusting what he is willing to pay. Anthopoulos has had good success with one year contracts so it wouldn’t surprise me though I’m not expecting it to be either of these two.
Verlander and Sherzer are used to making record setting money now and it seems market prices are increasing. I have my doubts that Anthopoulos would sign either to a 1 year-$25m contract and I doubt either of them would accept that offer.
They would trample their own mothers to get to the table to sign for $25MM for a contender.
I don’t think so. As I already said, they have been making a lot more money than that for quite some time and that was playing FOR contenders. I don’t know that Sherzer, Verlander and their agents understand that their time in the sun just might be at an end. With the way salaries have jumped up I am not sure there won’t be GM’s who will roll the dice on them. Bidding wars happen. It’s how Max Fried got an inflated contract.
There are surely some interested parties. Highly doubt that a bidding war starts. GMs would be cautious if they were early thirties and two guys were coming off bad/injury ravaged seasons, but they would mitigate some of that risk by spreading it out over several seasons. That’s not an option for guys 40+. My guess is they get signed to either incentive-laden deals, or for around $15MM
Compared to what those two have made in the past, $25M would be cautious. To get an ace level pitcher that just might give it a gamble. Another reason I didn’t mention why one or both might get that kind of money is that you pay more for 1 year contracts. That’s a third reason why you might be surprised how much they get.
I wouldn’t make a career out of “GM’s would be cautious” sort of thinking. That hasn’t been the case so far this season.
They are only in the market for 1 year deals. And since 2024 wasn’t a year we can use to use to evaluate their abilities, it becomes tough to predict what a 41 year old will pitch like when the last time he threw a MLB-quality pitch was at age 39.
What’s the prediction for 2025? 115 innings of 4.1 ERA and hopefully a playoff roster spot? That’s a lot to pay more than $15MM for
Verlander actually had a really good 2023. Thats not that far removed. Just the second to last season. GM’s will most likely keep an injury issue in mind which may have diminished Verlander.
For Sherzer, he was pretty effective in 23, and shortened in 24. GM’s will see up side there. I think you have to much recensy bias. I also don’t think you have enough consideration for how much more expensive free agents have been than expected. I think you aren’t giving enough consideration for how much bidding wars can elevate a salary. There is more than one team interested in him.
Especially since neither should get more than 15 and more likely no more than 12
Under the bottom of the barrel lol…that made me chuckle. Is this considered Barnicle scraping at that point?
Verlander has a higher ceiling than Morton who has a higher floor. If Verlander’s medicals check out, I don’t doubt seeing similar money being given to him. I can’t see V chasing a multi-year deal at 42, but egos aren’t uncommon for first ballot HOFers in their twilight. ATL has been interested in him in the past, of course, with HOU winning out.
I’m guessing TOR or SFG or DET but could make sense for a non-contender to flip at the deadline (although his ego probably wouldn’t abide that).
soaktherich: His ego wouldn’t abide what?
If you mean being traded, he’s been traded before with his consent.
The Giants have 6 SPs, not counting Black and Roupp. They’d certainly make room for a guy like Sasaki, but they want to see what they have in their young pitchers. I’d guess they aren’t interested in Verlander unless it’s as a mentor.
Two over the hill pitchers who are just using their reputations to steal another $10 million from some dumb GM/owner. Please let it be the Braves who are stupid enough to sign one of them.
Have you not learned yet…? If it’s Atlanta there’s a better chance he has a career resurgence than a collapse lol
I think the Tigers will bring him back to finish off his career
Verlander has already finished off his own career, thanks.
No, he has not. Barring injury, he is still a very effective pitcher, and way better than most.
Imagine if he goes to Cleveland
Why would I do that?
Jays are interested.
SERIOUSLY interested
He’s on a airplane now, lol
Come back to Queens bro, enter the hall as a Met
He would never enter the HOF as a Met. Tigers all the way
If he requested to go in as an Astro the committee would have to take a serious look at it.
Verlander is finished. Go enjoy retirement, no point in ruining your career stats any further like Grienke did
I think he needs like 130 k’s
He cleared 3000 strikeouts already. He is closer to 3500
94 to get to 3,510, pass Walter Johnson and be 9th in career strikeouts.
I think Verlander and Scherzer are in a personal battle for career strikeouts and both want to move up so they can stay in the top 10 for a while.
I don’t think any active player is going to catch Scherzer or Verlander for quite some time.
Well, I mean you can’t predict Paul Skenes’ career. But only Sale or Cole are within 1200K’s.
Sale would need to be healthy and not lose much of his swing and miss stuff for 6 more years. He’ll be 36 next year. Cole’s swing and miss stuff looks to be tailing off a bit already.
With the trends toward leaving starters in there for fewer innings—-I think they’ll be up there for a long time.
Kershaw too. But he’d need over 500k’s. I think that’s pretty safe to not occur. I’d be surprised if Clayton Kershaw throws 400 more big league innings
Hopefully he isn’t so delusional that he believes he can get 300 wins. He ain’t winning 38 games.
Verlander might pitch for three more seasons. 38 more wins are on the table. He should aim for a team with a big ballpark and good defense to back him up. Also warm weather so he doesn’t get old man injuries. The Pads are the best bet.
Hope he doesn’t join the list of athletes that hung on too long and are hard to watch knowing how dominant and good they were. Hello Aaron Rodgers.
Seriously?
He’s already there.
incoming Jed Hoyer signing
Jed Hoyer should announce that we are searching for pitchers who can throw the Roger Beshens Football SLider. This is the strategy that many teams in MLB are using now.
Actually they look for guys that throw the Steve Carlton slider too.
They could care less as long as they have a good one.
Tom House had pitchers throwing a football many moons ago, by the way.
There are guys who threw the traditional slider like a football but they had a different grip and tilt. Not even close to the Roger Beshens Football Slider.
Nobody describes the slider the way Roger Beshens does. On center grip, throw like a Football, Stiff wrist, if they did the MLB football slider revolution would have started then.
He makes sense almost anywhere but I think he ultimately ends up back in Houston.
If fifth starters are getting 15 mil, what do you think he and scherzer will get?
Verlander? 1/8m. He’s done. Even that’s too much.
Keep banging that drum and wait for Verlander to prove you wrong.
Less than that, since they’re both question marks as far as durability goes.
Verlander will go to the Braves. I have already seen multiple rumors of such and since they didn’t bring back Morton, may as well get Verlander. He does have a high ceiling, but a low floor as in he is injury prone.
cbraves: You have no way to know that. Rumors mean nothing.
He’ll get it going any day now…
any day now…
just give him time…
That makes sense , a veteran to replace Morton & Fried. They still haven’t done that yet
I am personally hoping two of the three future HOFers (Verlander, Scherzer and Kershaw) end up with the Angels. I doubt it’ll happen but for like $30-$35 million for one year, it’d be worth the move by then. The AL West is up for grabs and they should try to put a good team together before Mike Trout is too old.
The Angels could sign all 3 of these broken down pitchers, have broken down Mike Trout play 50 games this season and still be looking up at the division from the basement in 2025. Loser organization
I think the angels are a sleeper for Sasaki
Kershaw is going back to the Dodgers. He said so at the parade, that he’s Dodger for life. No sense in signing now and creating a roster crunch when he won’t be available until mid season.
Who is worth more in 2025? Verlander or Scherzer,at whatever their price and however many games they will actually pitch, or Marcus Stroman at $18M for a full season?
beboplar: interesting question. what’s the criteria?
Human interest, ticket sales, jerseys = Ver/zer
Innings, payroll flexibility, wins (debatable) = Stroman
jays, indians, twins, Os, Tigers all make sense if it’s a 1 yr.
Who are the Indians?
Indians are real. Guardians are fictitious. Chief Wahoo was an awesome mascot, one of the best, if not the best, imo. They could have went with the Blues, a previous team name.
Phillies
And then trade Ranger Suarez and if a team is willing to take T Walker, you don’t ask for much in return for Ranger. Zach Wheeler, Jesus Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Christopher Sanchez, and Verlander could possibly be the best starting rotation in decades.
Ranger is nails, come Oct.
I would of did that maybe last year but not now. Im not trading Suarez unless it’s for the right player
JV will sign with either the Stros or the Tigers.
Dodgers
They need a middle reliever.
With all but a million deferred probably.
Cubs.
Roger Beshens Football Slider hasn’t taken anyone’s elses idea. Major League Baseball and baseball schools have been using his pitch as the main one for teaching since 2018.
@choof You’re barking up the wrong tree here, don’t you think? 99+% of us here aren’t pro pitchers and don’t care. Good for Beshens. File a lawsuit against MLB for royalties every time the pitch is thrown. We don’t care. Please stop.
Just get a baseball, Grip it like a fastball, throw it like a Football, Stiff wrist and get back to me. Throw it over the top it drops many feet, throw it from a lower arm angle it will sweep many feet.
Now you know the Roger Beshens Football Slider is the Sweeper and Gyro.
All good but YOU didn’t invent it.
Sergio Romo made a career out of his “no dot”slider way before you. Same pitch. Pretty sure Satchel Paige had it too. Only name that has stuck to it recently is the sweeper. Try all you want but it won’t be named after you.
Get a grip on life, not just balls.
You must be great fun at parties.
Roger Beshens created his Football Slider, how can you be sure how others threw their slider if you can’t even explain how others taught their sliders?
If MLB coaches knew how to teach a slider that changed the MLB landscape they would have talked about it and taught it to others and caused a big change in the game. But that’s not what happened. Roger Beshens thoughts and lessons of his Roger Beshens Football Slider On center grip, Throw like Football, Stiff wrist are unique and well documented.
The Roger Beshens Football Slider is a pitching technique that any pitcher can use. When a pitcher throws the Roger Beshens Football Slider even if someone else demonstrates the pitching technique in person they are using Roger Beshens method, Roger Beshens still deserves to get the credit. People who modify the Roger Beshens football slider base are still using his original Roger Beshens Model.
How do you know Beshens didn’t take what guys like Sergio Romo were doing and gave it a name?
I think he already has a grip on his balls.
In 1978 Roger Beshens began using his football slider. He kept it secret and didn’t share it with anyone so no one could potentially surpass him with his own weapon.
One trend we are seeing in MLB.
Google Roger Beshens Colonial Leagues first MVP.
Roger clearly followed his own advice.
So this isn’t a joke. You are actually trying to accomplish something by annoying people in a comments section on the internet. Unbelievable.
I’m biased toward wanting him to end his career with the Astros on a one year deal, but I think he could probably get one year + player option or even one year + player option + mutual option with low buyout from some team.
The Braves probably make a lot more mutual sense since they have two rotation holes to fill . Hell, maybe they sign JV and Max to go with Chris Sale and work furiously behind the scenes to invent time travel back to 2012.
Angels, Toronto or Pittsburgh could use him
I prefer that these old guys retire with dignity.
Remember when the Red Sox signed John Smoltz for the last year of his career? I think Verlander is probably a better bet for one more year.
If he can be a mentor at this point of his career I’d love to see the Reds sign him
Verlander threw a traditional slider in Detroit. After moving to Houston Verlander learned the Roger Beshens Football Slider, Justin would never teach that football slider to teammates cause he doesn’t want them to surpass him. You remember Tyler Beede and Lucas Giolito were not much until they discovered the Roger Beshens Football Slider. It is clear they were unaware of how to throw the Football Slider like Roger Beshens teaches it. If Beede knew how to throw the Roger Beshens Football Slider out of high school or anywhere around that time he wouldn’t have spent 9 seasons in the minors. Make sure to acknowledge the Roger Beshens Football Slider.
JV does not seem to be the mentor type, but of course I may be wrong. about that and his future may be as a pitching coach.
I had a good laugh on that one. Not that it is a bad idea, but that they would actually do it
Wisdom says low risk high reward is the way to go. If he’s looking for four or 5 million guaranteed then you listen. Strangely, at that figure, I’d bet on Zack Greinke before I would JV or MS.
Go to Anaheim. Great place for vets on their last trip around the league.
Incentive-laden deal for a back end of rotation spot. Be stupid to give him a ton of guaranteed….
Come back home to Detroit J.V. …..
Verlanders trying to get to 300 career wins before hanging them up. Last guy who will be able to get anywhere remotely close to that number.
Tried like crazy to bet in Vegas or on gambling sites years ago that he would hit it. Glad no one wanted to take my money then.
He’d look great in a Guardians uniform. Bieber and Verlander is the one two punch Cleveland needs.
He just kinda seems done, all due respect. He doesn’t need the money (presumably), hanging on with diminished results feels like it’d damage his career legacy a little… but then again a team out there might actually give him $20M or more just to show up… I dunno… I get it-a lot of guys want a farewell tour, CC Sabathia-style.
Shrug.
I agree, Justin has well over 300 million in the bag, has a hot wife and kid now ro come home to. He’s got the counting stats and hardware to get into the Hall of Fame, and he’s been hurt now. There would be no shame in hanging it up to one of greatest baseball careers in modern times.
That being said, some team will give him a deal he likes, I just hope it’s not the Cubs. Hoyer needs to get bullpen arms…
I’d love to see him get 300 wins, because he will probably be the last guy to do it. Only 38 more to go!
These guys will standing at the podium soon enough, but for today, they’re Bottom-Feeders fodder.
To get 38 more wins and to reach 300 total he’ll need three more years; two if he’s excellent and if he plays for an excellent team. While I’d be glad to see it, it’s starting to feel unlikely. I’d rather see him go out on top than straggle off into irrelevance.
It’s highly improbable even in two terrific seasons with SP getting the quick hook these days.
If the 300 is the main motivator, he should sign a cheap 3-year contract.
Idk, Joe. If 300 was the main motivator he’d probably want to be able to pick his team every year. Wouldn’t want to wind up on a team that winds up taking a step back.
Teams interest is in having Kate Upton show up to watch him try and re-ignite his past…..lol….
Both of them to the A’s.
The only team’s Verlander should play for are the Astros or the Tigers. The half season he spent with the Mets never felt/looked right. I’d like to see him go back to Detroit to try to get to 300 and finish his career where it started as the Tigers are definitely headed in the right direction
I think he’ll sign with one of two teams. Detroit or Houston. Kate Upton is from Michigan. He’s always said he’d like to finish his career in Detroit but would like to pitch until he’s 45. So he’s got 3 more years to do that. We all know he’s not the same JV but he’s a great mentor to the young pitchers on the team. How to prepare and take care of your body.
He is also getting quite a bit of interest from his professional earnings thus far in his career.
Mike Fiers is much younger than JV, and should be available. Oh that’s right he’s a scumbag.
OoooK Mr. Boris.
Jon Morosi reports that “multiple teams are interested” = Zero teams are interested. Nice try though.