02/10/26 02:23:00
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02/10 14:22 CST Justin Verlander returns to the Detroit Tigers on a $13
million, one-year contract
Justin Verlander returns to the Detroit Tigers on a $13 million, one-year
contract
LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) --- For his 21st season in the majors, Justin Verlander is
going back to the very beginning of his career.
All the way back to Motown.
Verlander returned to the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, agreeing to a $13 million,
one-year contract with his first big league team. The three-time AL Cy Young
Award winner joins an improved rotation fronted by Tarik Skubal and Framber
Valdez, who also signed with Detroit in free agency.
Verlander, who turns 43 on Feb. 20, went 183-114 with a 3.49 ERA while spending
his first 13 seasons in Detroit. He won his first Cy Young Award and was AL MVP
when he had a 24-5 record and a 2.40 ERA in 2011.
Verlander was traded to Houston in August 2017 and helped the Astros win the
World Series that same year and again in 2022. Now he gets an opportunity to
chase a third championship with the Tigers, who are looking for the franchise's
first title since 1984.
Verlander's deal with Detroit includes $11 million in deferred payments
starting in 2030. The Tigers' pitchers and catchers are scheduled to have their
first spring training workout on Wednesday.
The right-hander is 266-158 with a 3.32 ERA in 555 starts, also playing for the
New York Mets and San Francisco. He is tied with Bob Feller and Eppa Rixey for
34th in victories on baseball's career list, while his 3,553 career strikeouts
are eighth and closely trailing Don Sutton's 3,574.
Verlander is coming off a frustrating year with the Giants, going 4-11 with a
3.85 ERA in 29 starts. But his 2.60 ERA from July 23 through the remainder of
the season ranked fourth in the National League with a minimum of 60 innings
pitched.
Verlander returned June 18 after being sidelined for a month by a strained
right pectoral muscle. He wants to keep pitching after a disappointing season
in which he began 0-8 and was winless in his initial 16 outings before a win at
Atlanta on July 23.
"First half, quite difficult. Happy I was able to find some mechanical fixes to
kind of get back in the right direction and pitch well in the second half,"
Verlander said following his final outing on Sept. 27. "I think obviously you'd
always rather it go well, but it's nice to be able to turn it around,
especially after a few months it gets really draining and it's tiresome. You've
just got to come in every day and have a positive mindset and keep working
hard."
Verlander signed a $15 million, one-year contract with San Francisco last
January and had a forgettable home debut for the Giants. The Giants often
struggled to provide him with enough run support.
The second-half turnaround mattered to Verlander, who limited opponents to a
.228 average over his final 13 appearances. He allowed two or fewer earned runs
in 10 of his last 13 starts.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
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