Justin Verlander Jumps To Mets As Tough Quest For 300 Wins Continues

Less than 48 hours after losing star pitcher Jacob deGrom, the New York Mets filled the gaping void by signing fellow free agent Justin Verlander.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, Verlander signed a two-year deal worth $86 million with the New York Mets.

As a result, the Mets replaced a two-time Cy Young Award winner with a three-time winner. But they also added even more age to the oldest team in the National League.

Verlander, who turns 40 in February, will team with Max Scherzer, 39, to form a powerful 1-2 punch at the top of the New York rotation, assuming both stay healthy (the veteran pitchers both missed time with injuries last year). Each of their contracts calls for an annual average of $43.3 million, most in the majors.

Previously teammates with the Detroit Tigers, Scherzer and Verlander own a combined six Cy Young trophies. No other major-league rotation owns that much hardware.

The Mets won a bidding war for Verlander among several big-market clubs, including the well-heeled New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, that intensified after deGrom signed a five-year, $185 million pact with the Texas Rangers Friday.

Verlander leads all active pitchers with 244 wins but would still be five short if he averages 17 wins a year for the next three seasons. The last pitcher to join The 300 Club was Randy Johnson in 2009.

In 2022, the 6’5″ right-hander became the first pitcher to win a Cy Young Award after returning from Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery. He led both leagues with a 1.75 earned run average en route to an 18-4 record in 28 starts for the World Champion Houston Astros. He climaxed the season by winning a World Series game for the first time.

The Mets finished with 101 wins last year but did not win the National League East because the Atlanta Braves, who won the same number, held a 10-9 edge in the season’s series and were awarded their fifth consecutive NL East title.

In his first venture as a National Leaguer, Verlander hopes to change that.

He posted a 0.28 ERA in inter-league games against NL clubs last year while leading the majors in ERA and WHIP. The only pitcher who won more games was Atlanta’s Kyle Wright, who finished with 21.

Verlander’s 2022 earned run average was the best since Pedro Martinez posted a 1.74 mark in 2000 and the best by any pitcher with at least 25 starts at age 39.

A nine-time All-Star, Verlander has a 3.24 earned run average – remarkable for the designated hitter era – and 3,198 strikeouts. The author of three no-hitters, he has led his league in strikeouts five times. His comeback was a major reason Houston won 106 games, giving them a 16-game bulge over the second-place Seattle Mariners in the American League West.

Verlander’s departure comes three years after another Houston ace, Gerrit Cole, signed a lucrative free-agent contract to change teams. Cole got a nine-year, $324 million pact from the New York Yankees, also signed during the Baseball Winter Meetings in San Diego.

Even before the Verlander signing, the Mets had the highest payroll in the majors, according to Spotrac, with a projected 2023 listing of $228,008,332. But they also had a wealthy owner who openly roots for the team.

Steve Cohen is a hedge fund billionaire whose personal fortune is estimated to exceed $14 billion. After signing five free agents last winter, he may follow the same route again to keep his club in title contention.

Several key Mets, including center-fielder Brandon Nimmo and starting pitchers Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker, are available to all bidders as free agents. Another former Mets standout, outfielder Michael Conforto, is in the market too.

The Mets have not reached the World Series since 2015 and or won it since 1986. They have won only two world championships since starting play as a 1962 National League expansion team.