Justin Verlander is coming to the Mets, giving New York a second ace atop the rotation following the departure of Jacob deGrom.
The 39-year-old right-hander is signing a two-year deal that has a vesting third-year option, reports SNY’s Andy Martino.
Per multiple reports, the first two years of the deal are worth $86 million. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the deal includes a full no-trade clause and that the third year of the deal vests as a $35 million player option if Verlander pitches 140 innings in 2024.
Verlander will join Max Scherzer in the rotation in what will be a reunion for the aces who pitched together with the Detroit Tigers from 2010 to 2014.
New York turned its attention to landing Verlander after deGrom signed a five-year, $185 million deal with the Texas Rangers on Friday night.
Martino reported earlier this offseason that the Mets had interest in Verlander, who will turn 40 years old on Feb. 20 but is coming off arguably the best season of his career — a season that resulted in his winning his third Cy Young award.
It was Verlander’s first season back after undergoing Tommy John surgery in October of 2020. But in 175 innings over 28 starts, he had a league-leading and career-low 1.75 ERA (2.49 FIP) while leading the league in WHIP (0.829) and ERA+ (220). Verlander struck out 185 batters — a rate of 9.5 per nine.
During his 17-year career with the Tigers and Houston Astros, the righty has a 3.24 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with 3,198 strikeouts in 482 starts over 3,163 innings.
Verlander, who has said in the past that he hopes to pitch until he’s 45, has a chance to become the fifth pitcher ever to reach the 4,000 strikeout mark. If he reaches 4,000 strikeouts, Verlander will join an exclusive group that consists of Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, and Steve Carlton.
In addition to Verlander, the Mets’ rotation for 2023 currently consists of Scherzer and Carlos Carrasco, with David Peterson and Tylor Megill as additional options.