Justin Verlander became a household name thanks to his time with the Tigers. Nearly a decade after he threw his last pitch with the team in 2017, Verlander is reportedly back to Detroit in a full-circle moment for the right-hander.
A Look at Verlander
Over eight years ago, the Tigers traded their then-ace Justin Verlander to the Astros for prospects Jake Rogers, Franklin Perez, and former first-rounder Daz Cameron. Aside from Rogers, the Tigers got nearly nothing from that trade. Verlander, meanwhile, won two World Series titles with Houston.
Fast forward to 2025, and things have changed for Verlander, aside from the age.
Before anything else, let’s go over Verlander’s numbers for a second. The 42-year-old went 4-11 with a 3.85 ERA last season for San Francisco, along with 137 strikeouts over 152 games. The righty, who has 266 career wins, didn’t get much help in that department thanks to a somewhat sluggish Giants offense.
Verlander had trouble at times last season, particularly in the first half. However, things went much better for the future Hall of Famer in the second half, as Verlander struck out 70 over 75.1 IP and only allowed six home runs, compared to 10 over 76 innings in the first half.
His 2.99 ERA was 20th-best among MLB starters with at least 45 innings thrown in the second half. And, the .72 HR/9 rate was also in the top-20, as well.
The 42-year-old’s velocity has slowly dipped, although Verlander can get it to the mid-90s when need be. We’ve also the righty adjust with his pitch arsenal, using the changeup more and even adding a sweeper to his arsenal.
The changeup, in particular, has been a sneaky weapon for him at times. Aside from the pitch usage jump, his changeup also netted swing-and-miss up, playing off that fastball.
Per ESPN, the Tigers agreed to sign Justin Verlander on a one-year deal.
Analysis
Just like in 2022, when the Cardinals signed Albert Pujols, Tigers fans will get to see their superstar from the past suit for the team for potentially the last time.
We’ll see where things go from here with Verlander. However, this is far from a final victory lap for Verlander. He’ll be joining a Tigers rotation that is deep up and down, thanks to Tarik Skubal and newcomer Framber Valdez, his old teammate from Houston. Not to mention, Reese Olson, Jack Flaherty, and Casey Mize are still with the team.
Verlander will look to get a crack at trying to win a third World Series — and what would be his first as a Tiger.
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