Justin Verlander

Newly acquired San Francisco Giants pitcher Justin Verlander's passion for the game is not something to question, as the right-hander "plans to pitch until he's 45," he told reporters.

"I wouldn't be back if I didn't think I could be great," Verlander said. "I really truly believe the experiences I had last year and leading into this year, I can be back to the pitcher I was not all that long ago when I won a Cy Young."

After signing a one-year, $15 million contract last week, the former 2011 MVP and 2006 Rookie of the Year will look to hit the ground running in San Francisco this season, coming close to his goal of continuing to pitch at 45 as he turns 42 at the start of February.

The veteran started his throwing practice earlier than usual during the offseason, already hitting 93 miles per hour and feeling good early on.

Last season, he averaged 93.4 miles per hour, so hitting 93 this early in the offseason is a promising sign for Verlander and Giants fans. Verlander told reporters that he had addressed some former shoulder and back issues that had limited him to 90.1 innings last season, though he did not go into details about what that entailed.

During Verlander's latest Cy Young season in 2022, he posted a career-best ERA of 1.75, allowing 116 hits while striking out 185, with a second-lowest WHIP of 0.829. Last season, over 17 games, he had a 5.48 ERA, allowing 98 hits while striking out 75, with a 1.384 WHIP.

In addition, Verlander has hopes of reaching the age benchmark while wearing No. 35, a number he has worn every time he has stepped onto the mound since 2005, except for his first two starts of his major league career.

That is, if he can seek the blessing from former Giants legend Brandon Crawford, who wore No. 35 for 13 seasons in San Francisco.

"I'm still putting a lot of thought into this," Verlander said. "I know that Buster (Posey) has reached out to Brandon Crawford, but I have not gotten the chance to talk to him personally."

Despite the uncertainties of how the year will shape out for Verlander, he is excited for the opportunity to turn his career around in a new location after underperforming in recent years with the Houston Astros.

"I've had a phenomenal ride with Houston, it's been a helluva chapter in my career…really last year left a sour taste in my mouth, not with the organization, just with myself," Verlander told reporters.

Coming off a disappointing 2024 season, Justin Verlander will look to rebound with the San Francisco Giants in 2025.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the 41-year-old has agreed to a one-year contract to pitch for the Giants. Jesse Rogers of ESPN added that the deal is worth $15 million.

BREAKING: Right-hander Justin Verlander and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a one-year contract, pending physical, sources tell ESPN. The future Hall of Famer, who turns 42 next month, will spend his 20th season with the Giants.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 7, 2025

There was some uncertainty about whether Verlander would continue his storied career. He finished last season with a career-worst 5.48 ERA in 17 starts for the Houston Astros and had two different stints on the injured list.

After his final home start of the regular season on Sept. 20, he admitted he probably came back too soon from a neck injury that kept him on the IL for more than two months in the middle of the season.

"I did have doctors say it would probably take a little longer [to recover]," he said. "I want to be here for this team. … I've pitched through a lot of stuff in my career. Obviously, I'm not saying I'm not going to continue to pitch, but it's been quite difficult. [The neck] hasn't hurt. Obviously, timing stuff is just not right."

Due to his struggles in the regular season, Astros manager Joe Espada opted not to use Verlander in his playoff rotation. This certainly seemed to indicate his time in Houston was coming to an end.

The nine-time All-Star has hinted he wants to keep playing long enough to win 300 games. His age and struggles last season make that seem like an extreme long shot now. He is sitting on 262 career victories.

The Giants are giving him an opportunity to at least get closer to that total. A full offseason to properly prepare for the grind of a 162-game schedule might allow him to rebound after a rough 2024.

If nothing else, Verlander can be a useful back-end starter at this stage of his career. If he can come close to pitching like he did in 2023 with a 3.22 ERA in 27 starts, the Giants will have signed one of the biggest bargains of the offseason.

The Houston Astros' season is over after a 5-2 home loss to the Detroit Tigers Wednesday capped a two-game American League Wild Card Series sweep.

After the defeat, Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander told reporters he's not ready to retire just yet, mentioning his desire to continue pitching and competing.

Justin Verlander was asked by @kristieAP about his mindset for his future in baseball.

“I definitely feel like I want to pitch and compete, and I’m not ready to step away yet.”#Relentless | @espn975 pic.twitter.com/u48xFZk2MS

— Paul Gallant (@GallantSays) October 2, 2024

The 2024 season was a tough one for Verlander, who turns 42 years old in February. He began the year on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation but returned and posted a 3.95 ERA in 10 starts.

However, Verlander went back on the IL in June due to lingering neck discomfort and missed two-and-a-half months. He struggled in his final seven starts with an 8.10 ERA. Houston left him off the roster for the AL Wild Card Series.

Verlander ultimately finished the year with a 5-6 record, a 5.48 ERA (1.38 WHIP) and 7.4 K/9 rate over 17 starts (90.1 innings). He will enter free agency next season.

When healthy, Verlander has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this century. The future Hall of Famer is a nine-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young winner who also won the 2011 American League MVP award. The 20-year veteran is a two-time ERA title winner and a two-time World Series victor as well.

Verlander is two years removed from one of his best seasons, when he went 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA (0.83 WHIP) and an MLB-best (and career-best) 218 ERA+ in 2022, which ended with Houston winning the World Series. It was an incredible feat for Verlander in his age-39 season, especially after missing all of 2021 due to Tommy John surgery. He still fared well in 2023, going 13-8 with a 3.22 ERA and 1.13 WHIP.

It's certainly possible that a healthy offseason and spring training allows Verlander to push past 2024 and find success once again. At any rate, Verlander clearly doesn't want to end his career on a down note and will look to return strong in 2025.

Following a tumultuous 2024 campaign that was beset by injuries and will go down as one of the worst statistical seasons of his legendary career, Houston Astros veteran starting pitcher Justin Verlander will begin the postseason watching from the bench.

Per Chandler Rome of The Athletic, Verlander did not make the Astros' roster for the AL Wild Card Series against the Detroit Tigers.

Our ALWC Roster. #Relentless pic.twitter.com/nyfoBsJZFp

— Houston Astros (@astros) October 1, 2024

Per MLB.com, Houston's roster includes 11 pitchers and 15 position players, with Verlander listed on the taxi squad.

"Verlander is a professional," general manager Dana Brown said. "He's been in the game a long time. And, you know, ultimately, he wants to do what's best for the club. And so I thought that from talking to Joe [Espada], the conversation went very well."

Verlander was placed on the injured list to start the 2024 season due to shoulder inflammation. After returning to action in April, he was placed back on the injured list two months later with a neck issue before coming back in August. In all, he made 17 starts and went 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP and 74 strikeouts in 90.1 innings pitched.

The 41-year-old recently admitted that he should've taken more time to recover over the summer.

"I think I came back from the neck injury a little fast," he said, per ESPN. "Obviously I know the schedule, I know the calendar, and I want to be an asset for this team and to do that I need to be able to pitch and find out where I'm at. Obviously, the results have not been good, but there's nothing you can do besides trying to pitch."

The Astros are sending left-hander Framber Valdez to the mound in Tuesday's Game 1 against the Tigers as they begin their eighth straight playoff run. This is the first time Houston is playing in the wild-card round since 2020.

After another rough start that raised his ERA to 5.55, Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander admitted he probably rushed his comeback from a neck injury that kept him out for two months earlier this season.

Verlander told reporters after Friday's 9-7 win over the Los Angeles Angels he came back from the injury "a little fast" because he wanted to prove his value for an Astros team that is closing in on another playoff berth.

"I think I came back from the neck injury a little fast," he said. "Obviously I know the schedule, I know the calendar and I want to be an asset for this team and to do that I need to be able to pitch and find out where I'm at. Obviously, the results have not been good, but there's nothing you can do besides trying to pitch."

The Astros placed Verlander on the 15-day injured list on June 18 due to neck discomfort. Manager Joe Espada said at the time the three-time Cy Young winner attempted to pitch through it, but the issue wasn't getting any better.

Verlander had a 3.95 ERA through 57 innings in 10 starts at the time he went on the IL. He has made six starts since being activated off the IL. His ERA in that span is 8.89 with 39 hits allowed, 18 strikeouts and 10 walks in 27.1 innings.

Friday night saw Verlander give up six runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings against the Los Angeles Angels. The Astros were able to hang on for a 9-7 win thanks to the bullpen allowing just one run in 4.1 innings of work.

Houston's magic number to win the AL West is down to four, but Verlander's struggles do raise a lot of questions about whether or not he should start a playoff game if the team gets in.

Framber Valdez, Ronel Blanco, Hunter Brown and Yusei Kikuchi seem like locks at this moment to fill out the Astros' playoff rotation. Verlander and Spencer Arrighetti (4.68 ERA in 20 starts) are likely vying for the last spot, assuming Espada decides to use a five-man rotation in October.

Verlander's 5.55 ERA is more than two runs higher than his career mark (3.30). This will be the first season he finished with an ERA over 4.00 since 2014 (4.54).

We've come to it at last. The moment when it finally seems like Justin Verlander is washed.

Inevitable, perhaps, but it feels more ominous than it should under the circumstances.

In case anyone needs an update on what Verlander has been up to, it's not pretty. The veteran has given up 19 runs in four starts since coming off the injured list on Aug. 21. He now has a 5.30 ERA, his highest for a season in which he's made at least 10 starts.

PRIME. TIME. PAVIN. pic.twitter.com/U6ocfrImRq

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 8, 2024

There are only two full weeks left in the regular season, which is likely to end with the Houston Astros atop the American League West. And with the rest of their rotation on fire, there would seem to be a chance of Verlander not being a part of it come October.

As jarring as that would be, it would feel like a fitting end to a season in which future Hall of Fame pitchers fading from relevance has been a consistent theme.

It's also been a rough one for Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom. The first two barely have more combined starts (15) than Verlander (14) has on his own, while deGrom will finally return from his second Tommy John surgery on Friday.

This year won't mark the end of the line for all four of these guys. But it feels like some sort of end, anyway, and it's hard to say with any certainty that their shoes will be filled.

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Verlander, Kershaw, Scherzer and deGrom Were the Next Generation

It just feels like ace generations come in waves, doesn't it?

Even if you only go as far back as the 1990s, you can see practically see handoffs happening at various points. Like, for example, from Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine to Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson. And then to Roy Halladay, CC Sabathia and Zack Greinke.

I'm aware of the awkwardness inherent in saying that Verlander, Kershaw, Scherzer and deGrom were the next wave. Verlander debuted in 2005, whereas Kershaw and Scherzer debuted in 2008 and deGrom didn't come along until 2014.

What the four of them undeniably did, however, was own the 2010s.

There were 18 Cy Young Awards handed out between 2011 and 2019, and they won 10 of those. It's a big reason why all four give off future Hall of Fame energy, with only deGrom's candidacy coming with a question mark in place of an exclamation mark.

But there's at least a fair discussion to be had there, if for no other reason than he's been granted GOAT status in the best of times.

"He's pretty much the best, maybe the best to ever pitch."

- Mookie Betts on Jacob deGrom pic.twitter.com/BRXpz4geZS

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) September 1, 2022

Right now, though, the best of times for these guys feels like forever ago. Whereas they once combined for 26.4 fWAR at their peak in 2018, this year their total output is 1.7 fWAR.

The 36-year-old Kershaw's contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers has a player option for 2025, but he's previously talked about retiring if he doesn't feel like he can be an above average pitcher. Verlander, 41, and Scherzer, 40, are both free agents this winter, and only one of them has committed to continue pitching.

As for deGrom, he has three years left on his contract with the Texas Rangers. But he just turned 36 on June 19, and the history of pitchers who've had Tommy John twice isn't inspiring.

This is therefore a good time for one of those handoffs, but there's a problem.

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Where Is the Next Generation?

Out of the top 25 starters on the fWAR leaderboard for 2024, only three are 25 or younger. Which would be shocking if it wasn't par for the course.

Since MLB's 30-team era began in 1998, the last six seasons are also the six worst seasons for 25-and-under starters in terms of fWAR. Whereas they did so only once between 1998 and 2021, 25-and-under starters have accounted for under 20 percent of all fWAR produced by starters in each of the last three seasons.

This is most notably a scarcity problem. As recently as 2008, 25-and-under starters accounted for 32.9 percent of all starts. That rate is now at 22.4 percent in 2024.

If you want definitive answers for where all the good young starters have gone, I can't help you. I can only present these three theories:

1. Teams Don't Value High School Pitchers Anymore

In the past, it wasn't uncommon for teams to gobble up high school pitchers early in the draft. An average of 10 prep arms went in the first round between 1998 and 2018.

By contrast, a total of 27 prep pitchers have gone in the first round since 2019. That's 4.5 per year, and it took until the No. 24 pick in this year's draft for a prep arm to finally come off the board. That's a record low.

This equals fewer opportunities for phenoms to shoot through the minors and debut in the majors at, say, 20 or 21. Like, for example, Sabathia, Greinke and Kershaw were able to do.

2. It's the Injuries

If I told you that Tommy John surgery, specifically, was a big problem for young pitchers, you'd probably believe me just based on anecdotal evidence.

It's nonetheless about as bad as you'd think, at least insofar as Jon Roegele's Tommy John database is instructive. It only counts operations reported by the media, but it shows that amateur and minor league pitchers account for more surgeries than major league pitchers.

Of course, there are more amateur and minor league pitchers out there than there are major league pitchers. But it's still far from the best-case scenario here: Pitchers get to the majors first, and then blow out their elbows.

3. Teams Can Now Mass-Produce Pitching Talent

For anyone unfamiliar with the term "Borg," they're Star Trek villains whose gimmick is absorbing the distinctive qualities of individuals into a collective of warrior drones.

Now that I've said that, I can say this: Pitchers are basically Borg now.

Seemingly every pitcher in MLB today has good stuff, particularly where velocity is concerned. It's a team-driven revolution and its success rate only seems to be getting better. Heck, even Aaron Civale and Frankie Montas only needed minor tweaks to start thriving as Milwaukee Brewers.

Granted, teams still need to cultivate young pitching. But in an environment where the youngest, freshest arms aren't necessarily the best bets for good pitching at any given moment, it makes sense that there would be an opportunity vacuum for those arms.

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At Least There's Paul Skenes

On the plus side, arguably the best pitcher in MLB right now is a 22-year-old rookie.

Though fWAR doesn't value him as highly, Paul Skenes is only the fourth 22-or-younger pitcher since 2004 to achieve a 5-rWAR season. And since he debuted for the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 11, his 2.10 ERA is better than anyone's.

All this is happening just a year after the Bucs chose Skenes No. 1 overall, so he's almost certainly not a finished product yet. Such a notion only makes it more tempting to imagine his prime being on the level of a Verlander, a Kershaw, a Scherzer or a deGrom.

143 Ks. 🔥

Paul Skenes now holds the @Pirates record for strikeouts by a rookie since 1900. pic.twitter.com/76UNRcQEmj

— MLB (@MLB) September 9, 2024

Other 25-and-under legacy ace candidates include Hunter Greene, who might have the best pure stuff of any starter, and Garrett Crochet, who is striking out 12.8 batters per nine innings. There's also Hunter Brown, who's rocking a 2.31 ERA.

Let's also not forget that the most expensive pitcher in history is likewise still only in his age-25 season: Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

He came to the Los Angeles Dodgers with a sub-2.00 ERA in seven seasons in Japan. A rotator cuff strain cost him about three months, but he still has a 2.34 ERA if you take out his rough opening act in Korea way back on March 21.

Others who deserve name-drops include Tanner Bibee, Bryce Miller, Bryan Woo and Grayson Rodriguez. On the prospect front, there's Jackson Jobe and the newly promoted Kumar Rocker, who may yet live up to the sensational hype he had in his heyday at Vanderbilt.

Granted, simply listing off names of guys who could form MLB's next generation of aces is no guarantee that the formation will actually happen. Past results never guarantee future performance, and these guys barely have past results as it is.

Still, hope will do whenever certainty is lacking. Perhaps it's not the case that there is no bright future for all of ace-dom after Verlander, Kershaw, Scherzer and deGrom.

It may be that it's just not in focus yet.

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Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.

Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander was candid after his recent struggles continued in a 12-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.

"I mean, f--k, the damage has been done, whatever," he told reporters after the game. "I'm good."

The three-time Cy Young Award winner allowed eight earned runs in three innings of work. A third-inning grand slam by Diamondbacks left fielder Pavin Smith, his second homer of the contest, accounted for half of Arizona's output.

Verlander said he "felt good physically" but that "the results were atrocious." He cited an inability to complement his fastball as a primary factor.

"I found myself behind a lot because I wasn't able to land them, and they did some damage on some fastballs because of that," he said. "I thought the fastball was better today overall. The off-speed was a bit inconsistent location-wise, which got me in a little bit of trouble."

Through his first eight starts of 2024, Verlander was his usual self for the most part. He allowed four or more earned runs just twice and struck out 44 batters across 47 innings.

From June on, however, his performance has fallen off badly. The 41-year-old has an 8.78 ERA over his last six appearances, and opposing hitters are slugging .555 off him with a .950 OPS.

Until a few months ago, Verlander would've been a lock for the Astros' playoff roster. He has thrown a total of 226 career postseason innings and averaged 9.7 strikeouts to 2.9 walks per nine innings. Only Andy Pettitte has logged more innings and nobody has more strikeouts (244).

Manager Joe Espada might have a dilemma on his hands, though, because relying on the current version of Verlander in a high-stakes playoff game would be a risky proposition.

The Houston Astros starting rotation is set to get a major boost with a long-awaited return.

Per ESPN, Astros ace Justin Verlander is scheduled to be removed from the injured list after recovering from a neck injury and start the finale of a three-game set against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. It will mark his first start since June 9.

Verlander was placed on IL after experiencing stiffness in his neck. It was his second stint on the injured list this season after he opened the year on the shelf due to right shoulder inflammation. In 10 starts, the 41-year-old went 3-2 with a 3.95 ERA and 51 strikeouts.

"It's big getting JV on the mound. It's getting one of the best back in there," Astros manager Joe Espada said. "We know what he means. We know he's part of this winning culture and getting him back is a big boost for our team, especially down the stretch."

Verlander made two rehab starts in the minor leagues, most recently throwing 57 pitches in four innings for Double-A Corpus Christi on Thursday. Espada addressed whether he will be on a pitch count on Wednesday since his last rehab outing was so short.

"We'll see how the outing goes and how efficient he is," Espada said. "I don't want to put a number because he can surprise us. But we're going to keep a close eye on his workload for sure."

Getting Verlander back comes at a crucial time for Houston, which has embarked on a stretch of 18 straight days without an off day. Espada said the team will use at least a six-man rotation to make it through that.

The Astros (67-56) have won 10 of their last 11 games entering Monday's matchup against the Red Sox and lead the AL West by four games.