SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Justin Verlander and the San Francisco Giants finalized a $15 million, one-year contract on Saturday.
A three-time AL Cy Young Award winner, Verlander joins a projected rotation led by All-Star right-hander Logan Webb.
Verlander went 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA in 17 starts for the AL West champion Houston Astros last year. He opened the season on the injured list with shoulder inflammation. He also was on the IL from June 18 to Aug. 21 because of neck discomfort.
A right-hander who turns 42 next month, Verlander had a 9.26 ERA in five September starts and was left off the postseason roster by Houston, which was swept by Detroit in an AL Wild Card Series. He became a free agent after he failed to pitch 140 innings, a total that would have triggered his ability to exercise a $35 million conditional player option.
“I definitely feel like I want to continue to pitch and compete and I’m not ready to step away yet,” he said in October.
Verlander, a Virginia native who played college ball at Old Dominion, is 262-147 with a 3.30 ERA in 526 major league starts. He is baseball’s active leader in wins, strikeouts (3,416), innings (3,415 2/3), starts and complete games (26). He is 17-12 with a 3.58 ERA in 38 career postseason appearances.
The 6-foot-5 ace spent his first 12-plus seasons with Detroit. He won his first Cy Young Award and was voted AL MVP after he went 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA in 2011.
He was traded to Houston in August 2017 and helped the team capture the franchise’s first World Series title that same year. He won two more Cy Young Awards and another championship during his first stint with the Astros.
Verlander signed an $86.7 million, two-year contract with the New York Mets as a free agent in December 2022. The nine-time All-Star made 16 starts for New York before he was traded back to Houston for two minor leaguers.
San Francisco catcher Blake Sabol was designated for assignment to open a roster spot.
In the first offseason since Buster Posey replaced Farhan Zaidi as the Giants’ president of baseball operations, San Francisco also signed free agent shortstop Willy Adames to a $182 million, seven-year contract in December.
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