The San Francisco Giants are firmly in the MLB playoff picture past the midway point of the season and with the front office committed to buying, recent MLB trade rumors have connected the Giants to one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Entering the MLB games today, San Francisco is a Wild Card team with a small lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild card standings. With the NL West also up for grabs, San Francisco is approaching the deadline with the intention of adding talent.
Related: MLB trade tracker
According to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi, the Giants are among several MLB teams evaluating Justin Verlander in preparation for the event he becomes available and waives his no-trade clause.
- Justin Verlander stats (2023): 3.47 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 20.6% K-rate, .224 BAA
With the New York Mets still evaluating their options, a decision from Verlander isn’t imminent. However, the Mets have been one of the worst teams in the National League this summer and Verlander’s desire to compete for a World Series could factor in his decision.
As for the Mets, the expectation around the league is for this team to be sellers. After entering the season with the highest payroll in MLB, history, New York is expected to put players on expiring contracts on the trade block first.
- Justin Verlander contract: $43.333M salary (2023), $43.333M salary (2024), $43.33M vesting option (2025)
While the Mets would obviously prefer to keep Verlander and Max Scherzer, the number of suitors interested in the Cy Young Award winners could significantly alter the decision made by New York’s front office.
Verlander got off to a rough start this season, posting a 4.80 ERA with a career-worst 18.2 percent strikeout rate and a 1.1 WHIP in his first five starts. However, he’s been excellent as of late. Across his last nine starts, Verlander has held opponents to a .217 batting average and posted a 2.72 ERA.
While teams like the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers are focused on Lucas Giolito, who is on an expiring contract, the Giants’ financial flexibility could allow them to land one of the best pitchers in MLB at the trade deadline.