Several teams have shown interest in New York Mets star pitcher Justin Verlander leading up to Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline.
After New York dealt away fellow multi-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer over the weekend, it became clear that Verlander could be the next on the chopping block.
We can now eliminate two NL West rivals from the sweepstakes for the three-time Cy Young winner. According to Andy Martino of SNY, the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants are no longer in on the 40-year-old pitcher.
Neither team was favored to land the high-priced veteran. Instead, it looks like the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers could be battling for his services with hours to go before the deadline. The Baltimore Orioles also have to be seen as a wild card.
As with Scherzer, there is a major financial component to this. Verlander signed a two-year, $86.7 million contract with New York during the winter. He also has a $35 million option for the 2025 season.
When New York dealt Scherzer to the Texas Rangers, the team picked up north of $35 million remaining on his contract. In turn, it enabled the team to acquire a top prospect in Luisangel Acuna. This was the latest example of owner Steve Cohen flexing his financial muscle. The expectation is that he’ll be willing to pick up a nice chunk of Verlander’s remaining contract.
Related: MLB trade tracker with grades
Justin Verlander stats (2023): 6-5 record, 3.15 ERA, 1.15 WHIP
While Verlander is having a down season by his standards, he’s coming off a 2022 campaign with the Houston Astros that saw the future Hall of Famer boast a 21-6 record with a 1.75 ERA and 0.83 WHIP en route to winning the AL Cy Young.
Verlander has also turned things around recently, pitching to a 1.49 ERA over the course of his past seven starts.
As of right now, the Dodgers have to be seen as the favorites to land the star pitcher. We’ll find out soon enough whether that comes to fruition.