Justin

Verlander

The 42-year-old future Hall of Famer returns to the organization that made him the second overall pick in the draft way back in 2004. Verlander spent the first 12 and a half seasons of his big league career with the Tigers before being shipped to the Astros in a deadline deal in 2017. He’s still 34 victories away from 300 for his career, a milestone that Verlander wants to achieve before he retires. He adds quality depth to the back end of what’s shaping up to be a fearsome Tigers’ rotation.

The Orioles have their five starters after adding Shane Baz and Zach Eflin, but it seems they’re still hoping for more depth beyond Tyler Wells and Cade Povich. Verlander, who finished strong in his age-42 season, would presumably want to be promised a rotation spot wherever he landed.

The 42-year-old hurler is back on the open market after one season with the Giants in which he compiled a 3.85 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and a 137/52 K/BB ratio over 152 innings. He finished the season strong though after battling through injuries early in the year and looks poised for a rebound in 2026. With goals of pitching until he reaches 300 career victories, look for Verlander to prioritize winning when choosing his next destination. The Giants have expressed interest in bringing him back while a return to the Tigers could also be mutually beneficial as well.

Verlander served up a solo homer to Hunter Goodman in the first inning. Brenton Doyle then took him deep for a solo blast in the second. Verlander locked in for four more scoreless frames, collecting seven strikeouts on the day. The 42-year-old right-hander had a solid season in San Francisco, posting a 3.85 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and a 137/52 K/BB ratio across 152 innings. Verlander will be a free agent this winter and has expressed his desire to continue his career in 2026.

It’s not a lock that this is Verlander’s final start, but it’s the last one he was scheduled for, and if so, this ends what has to have been one of the most frustrating seasons of his career. He allowed nine hits in the game — including a two-run blast from Iván Herrera — while walking two against three strikeouts. If this is in fact it, he finishes with a 3-11 record, but a 3.88 ERA in 152 1/3 innings over 29 starts suggests he pitched much better than that for the overwhelming majority of the season. If he doesn’t hang up the cleats and does pitch as a 43-year-old, he’ll have interest from a team looking for a backend starter in free agency.

Unfortunately for Verlander, Brandon Pfaadt shut out the Giants for nine. Still, it was another stellar outing from the league’s oldest player. Verlander has allowed one run and struck out 23 over 25 innings in his last four starts, dropping his ERA from 4.46 to 3.75. A month ago, he certainly seemed to be in line to take another paycut if he wanted to continue his career (and he does). At this rate, though, he’ll probably do better in free agency than the $15 million he signed for this year. He’s due to face the Cardinals and Rockies at home next week, though there’s always the chance he could be scratched from that final start.

It’s yet another hard-luck no-decision for Verlander, which is a weird thing to say for a player that has won 265 games in his career. Verlander was outstanding, but a solo homer allowed to Michael Conforto — on top of the Giants doing nothing after the first inning against Yoshinobu Yamamoto — was enough to keep him from picking up a win. Still, a very solid effort; one that saw him walk four but allow only four hits with four strikeouts. He’ll look to keep up the good work with perhaps a run or two more of support Wednesday against the Diamondbacks.

Verlander was excellent. Ryan Walker was not, and the three runs he allowed in the ninth prevented Verlander from picking up a win. Disappointing, but it’s another impressive outing from the 42-year-old that saw him allow just three hits — all singles — with no walks and six strikeouts. Verlander isn’t done yet, and he’ll have a big matchup Friday against the Dodgers.

The 42-year-old hurler allowed just three hits on the day while issuing four free passes. It took him a whopping 121 pitches (81 strikes) to navigate five innings in this one, but the Giants were intent on getting him a victory with a large lead at their disposal. Verlander got 23 swings and misses on the day — four or more on each of his changeup, slider, curveball and fastball — while posting a strong CSW of 33 percent. He’ll see if he can keep the good times rolling as he carries a 4.29 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and a 114/43 K/BB ratio (121 2/3 innings) into Saturday’s tilt against the Cardinals in St. Louis.

Verlander tossed three scoreless innings before a double, walk, and a base hit put a run on the board for the Cubs in the fourth. Chicago would bring one more run in to score in the fifth on a double and a base hit. Verlander would toss one more scoreless frame, collecting five strikeouts on his way to the win. The 42-year-old veteran right-hander will take a 4.55 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and a 104/39 K/BB ratio across 116 2/3 innings into a start against the Orioles in San Francisco on Sunday.