Foxes agree Justin Verlander on a one-year contract, pending a physical contract. Verlander, an ISE Baseball client, is reportedly guaranteed $15MM.
The future Hall of Famer will play his 42nd season in San Francisco. Verlander has previously suggested that he hopes to play until he is 45 years old. There was no doubt that he would return on a one-year contract somewhere. It always seemed impossible to continue in Houston. Verlander had an incredible run with the Astros for almost the first half of his tenure with the Mets in 2023. He is coming off a challenging season, which led Houston to let him go.
Verlander walked the ball 17 times and posted a 5.48 earned run average in 90 1/3 innings. He had several spells on the injured list – first in April due to shoulder inflammation, then two months between June and August related to a neck problem. Opponents marked him with an ERA north of 8.00 during his seven starts after returning from his last injury. Verlander admitted after the season that he came back too early while trying to contribute to Houston’s playoff run.
San Francisco believes it has plenty in the tank with a healthy season. Verlander is one year removed from a great season. He compiled a 3.22 ERA in 162 1/3 innings with New York and Houston in 2023. That came with a 21.5% strikeout rate that was well below Verlander’s previous mark. That marks a dip in his Cy Young form, but he found more success with fewer swings and misses that year.
Verlander averaged 93.5 MPH on his four-seam fastball last season. That’s down slightly from the 94-95 MPH range he averaged between 2022-23 but not completely off the table. Throwing under full power can cause that dip. If Verlander is fully healthy in 2025, it’s not out of the question to expect his velocity to increase again.
Life is a clear warning for the 42-year-old pitcher. Verlander has already defied expectations once, coming back from Tommy John surgery to win his third Cy Young at age 39 in 2022. Even if he’s unlikely to repeat that kind of performance, he could be an asset as a center fielder with veterans. presence in the lost work Blake Snell.
Logan Webb he will return to take the mantle as the team’s first player. Verlander again Robbie Ray slot in the middle of the rotation as top veterans try to bounce back from injuries. The former’s high hopes Kyle Harrison it should be the beginning of the fourth. President of baseball operations Buster Posey said last month that the Giants intended to offer the hard-throwing player. Jordan Hicks another chance at the exchange. Small arms Landen Roupp, Mason Black again Hayden Birdsong he can push Hicks into the first five role.
This is the second free agency move of Posey’s first baseball career of the winter. His biggest highlight was a seven-year deal to put it on Willy Adams in a short time. Posey has publicly suggested that continuing to strengthen the offense was more important than the rotation, but they clearly liked the importance of a one-year roll of the dice on Verlander.
San Francisco had an estimated $208MM in luxury tax liabilities coming into today, as calculated by RosterResource. This would push them to around $223MM, which is slightly less than $20MM of the $241MM base limit. Verlander’s deal comes with a $15MM veteran starting salary Alex Cobb again Charlie Morton it also came first this winter.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported that the Giants and Verlander have agreed to a one-year contract. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported a salary of $15MM. Image courtesy of Imagn.
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