The San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a one-year deal with starting pitcher Justin Verlander worth $15 million, ESPN reports.
Verlander, who turns 42 in February, will join the Giants for his 20th MLB season. The deal signals a return to the National League for Verlander after he briefly pitched for the New York Mets in 2023. He was rated as the No. 43 free agent in this year’s class by Yahoo Sports.
Verlander is one of the most decorated pitchers of his generation. A nine-time All-Star, Verlander is a three-time Cy Young winner with the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. He was named AL MVP in 2011 in the same season he won his first Cy Young award with the Tigers.
Verlander won his subsequent Cy Young awards in 2019 and 2022 with the Astros after joining Houston for the first time in 2017. He was a key member of Houston’s pitching staff during its run to the 2017 and 2022 World Series championships.
Verlander signed with the Mets as a free agent prior to the 2023 season only to be traded back to the Astros ahead of the in-season trade deadline. Verlander remained with the Astros through the 2024 season before becoming a free agent.
Verlander is not the pitcher he once was. In 17 starts last season, his ERA ballooned to a career-worst 5.48. He’d previously posted a 4-plus ERA just twice in a full season (4.84 in 2008, 4.54 in 2014), and he has a career ERA of 3.30. The Giants are surely hoping that Verlander can find some return to form in San Francisco next season.
Verlander joins a staff that features 2024 All-Star Logan Webb, but lost two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell in free agency to the rival Dodgers.
