Looking to keep pace in a competitive National League West, the San Francisco Giants have signed future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander to a one-year, $15 million deal pending a physical for the 2025 season. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to report the deal while MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand helped report the monetary value.

Verlander enters his age 42 season after a challenging year with Houston in 2024. The veteran righty made 17 starts for Houston and turned in a 5.48 earned run average through 90 1/3 innings. Injuries played a part in his struggles as he endured a pair of injured list stints — first in April for shoulder inflammation, then a two-month stint between June and August related to a neck issue. Once he returned from the latter injury opposing batters tagged him for an ERA over 8.00 his seven starts after he returned from the latter injury. Verlander admitted he likely returned too quickly in an effort to help the Astros in their playoff push that ultimately stalled out in the Wild Card round.

Originally drafted second overall by the Detroit Tigers in 2004, Verlander made his debut in 2005 before establishing himself as one of the game’s best in his full rookie season in 2006 where he was named the American League Rookie of the Year. From 2007 to 2013, Verlander regularly placed among the league’s best pitchers as he was named an All-Star six times and received both Cy Young Award and MVP votes in five seasons including winning both awards in 2011.

He continued his production on the mound until the waiver deadline in 2017 when Verlander was sent to Houston at the midnight hour of the deadline to help propel the Astros to a World Series title. While in Houston Verlander continued to dip into the fountain of youth but leading the league with 290 strikeouts in 2018 en route to another All-Star appearance, a second-place Cy Young finish, and a top-10 MVP finish. He won his second career Cy Young Award in 2019 before undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2020 that sidelined him for the 2021 season.  He returned with a vengeance in 2022, recording a 1.75 ERA in 28 starts as a 39-year-old to win his third career Cy Young Award.

Verlander left the Astros following that season and headed to New York as he signed a two-year, $86.7 million with the Mets to join Max Scherzer in what was expected to be a power duo at the top of the Mets rotation. However, the struggles of the Mets and the steepness of his contract led the team to deal him back to Houston at the 2023 Trade Deadline. He combined for a 3.22 ERA across 162 1/3 innings with New York and Houston that season.

The Giants are certainly hoping that 2024 was an anomaly that can be chalked up to bad health and that Verlander will be more than capable of digging into his past to return to a quality level on the mound in 2025. The health is a large caveat, however, as the wear and tear entering his 20th big league season is a concern. Verlander hasn’t fallen off the table but he has been averaging 93-95 mph on his fastball and even with some diminished stuff he has proven quite capable of getting strikeouts and keeping the ball in the zone. Should he rebound in any form beyond 2024 he will be a welcome presence in a Giants rotation that lost Blake Snell to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A bonus is that Verlander can serve as a mentor to some of the younger arms vying for time in the rotation like Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp while providing reliable support behind Logan Webb and Robbie Ray in the rotation. The Giants had been in on Corbin Burnes before he signed a six-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks but now pivot to a short-term pact with Verlander. He is the second free agent to sign with the Giants this offseason, joining shortstop Willy Adames, who was awarded a seven-year, $182 million deal last month. President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey is continuing to try and improve the Giants and the team has been linked in the hunt for Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki, but most improvements are likely to come on the offensive side of things. They have been linked as a destination for free agent slugger Pete Alonso among others as they seek to upgrade at first base, designated hitter, and/or the outfield.