2023 has been an insane year for Justin Verlander. Just after fans believed that they had seen it all from the veteran workhorse, he made a return to his old team in one of the strangest ways possible.
After winning the 2022 World Series and AL Cy Young as a 39-year old pitcher for the Houston Astros, Justin Verlander signed a two-year, $86 million deal with the New York Mets in December. With an annual contract value, he was to tie teammate Max Scherzer as the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history.
In New York, he missed a significant portion of the early season with injury. After 16 starts, the 40-year old was 6-5 with a 3.15 ERA. Even though the numbers did not represent a bad season, the Mets were in a standings nosedive. On August 1, they traded him back to the Houston Astros.
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“”We found out that (Justin) Verlander was on the market. I went to Jim Crane… then we got the deal done.” @astros GM Dana Brown details the blockbuster of the Trade Deadline as the reigning World Series Champs reunited with the 3x Cy Young winner.” – MLB Network
On August 5, Justin Verlander was set to make his first start since returning to the club that he spent four-and-a-half seasons with. He made the start in the Bronx against the New York Yankees. After striking out Jake Bauer, Verlander called his trainer out to examine his hand.
After a brief interaction, the three-time Cy Youn Award winner appared to blow on his hand, and resume his work. Justin Verlander continued to pitch, surrendering a solo home run to Bauers in the fourth inning. Currently in the sixth inning, the Yankees lead 2-1 as Verlander continues to pitch for the Houston Astros.
In October, 2022, during his last regular season start for the Astros, Verlander was spotted with blood on his pitching hand, but seemed unphased. After the game, Verlander claimed that “nervous clicking” on the glove was to blame, and did not represent a serious issue.
Justin Verlander has big expectations on him for the rest of 2023
Whatever you might think of Justin Verlander’s whirlwind tenure with the New York Mets, the situation needs to be put in the past. Now, Verlander’s goal is simple – bring another World Series to the city of Houston. When he retires, he will be regarded as one of the most dominant pitchers ever, regardless of his brief and insigificant time in Queens.