Justin Verlander’s free agent frenzy has come to an end.
The former Houston Astros ace and three-time Cy Young winner has signed a two-year, $86 million deal with the New York Mets, according to multiple outlets. The 39-year-old will be pitching in the National League for the first time in his illustrious career.
Verlander had the best year of his career in 2021, going 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA. He also struck out 185 batters and held opponents to a batting average of .186. Verlander also got his first career World Series win in Game 5 of the Fall Classic earlier this year.
Now, Verlander will join a pitching staff featuring Max Scherzer, Carlos Carrasco, and the “trumpet-man” Edwin Diaz as the closer. David Peterson and Tylor Megill round out the rotation with young arms to develop further.
As for the Astros, the pitching rotation is still strong with Framber Valdez, Christian Javier, Lance McCullers Jr, Jose Urquidy, Hunter Brown, Luis Garcia, and others.