Justin Verlander will return to his original team, the Detroit Tigers, on a one-year contract.

Verlander will make $13 million with this contract. However, $11 million will be deferred and paid out through 2030. 

In 2025, Verlander had a 3.85 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 103 ERA+ in 29 starts with the San Francisco Giants. From July until the end of the season, he pitched to a 3.56 ERA. 

These stats were an improvement over his 2024 stats with the Houston Astros. In that season, he had a 5.48 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 74 ERA+. 

The one thing that didn’t improve from 2024 to 2025 was the number of hits Verlander allowed. In both seasons, he allowed over nine hits per nine innings. This means he allows a hit almost every inning based on averages. 

Verlander first pitched for the Tigers from 2005 to 2017. He pitched just 11 innings in 2005 before getting a full season of play in 2006. In 2006, he won the American League Rookie of the Year award and finished seventh in American League Cy Young voting. In 2011, he won the American League MVP and Cy Young Award. 

Verlander is currently projected to be the Tigers’ No. 4 starter. At the top of the rotation they have back-to-back American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and their big offseason signing Framber Valdez. 

Tigers pitchers and catchers report began Feb. 11. Their first spring training game is Feb. 21 against the New York Yankees. 

The Tigers looked strong for most of last season, but experienced a collapse at the end of the season. The Tigers hope the additions of Valdez and Verlander can help prevent another late-season collapse. Both Valdez and Verlander were a part of the 2022 World Series-winning Astros team.

Pitcher Justin Verlander will be spending his twentieth MLB season with the San Francisco Giants, following a tumultuous eight-season stretch that saw him win two World Series with the Houston Astros, sign with the Mets, and get traded back to the Astros.

The Giants signed him to a one-year contract worth $15 million.

Verlander, who turns 42 in February, is one of the most accomplished pitchers in baseball. He’s a nine-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner, and holds the MLB’s active title for most wins, with 262. However, he’s struggled with injury in recent years, including an elbow injury requiring Tommy John surgery that kept him sidelined through the entire 2021 season.

Verlander put up the worst season of his career in 2024, finishing with a 5.48 ERA and a 5-6 record. Over his five starts in September, he posted a 9.26 ERA.

“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, after being left off the Astros’ postseason roster.

The Giants, who finished 2024 with an 80-82-0 record, are looking to improve in perhaps the most difficult division in baseball. Verlander adds depth to a fairly young pitching rotation, which should improve with experience. San Francisco has similarly bolstered its batting lineup, signing shortstop Willy Adames to a seven-year, $182 million deal in December.

Verlander could provide valuable mentorship regardless, but his personal success in 2025 – and likely his future in the MLB – relies on a semi-spectacular injury comeback. Again.

In a highly anticipated pitching matchup between former teammates Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, the Houston Astros soundly defeated the Texas Rangers 12-3 to maintain a one-game lead in the AL West.

The game Wednesday night was the first time Verlander and Scherzer had ever faced off. The two future Hall-of-Famers were teammates on the Detroit Tigers from 2010 to 2014 and again earlier this season with the New York Mets. They were traded to opposing AL West rivals at the trade deadline as both the Astros and Rangers seek a hotly contested division title.

But in a game many expected to be closely contested with two aces on the mound, the Astros quickly overwhelmed Scherzer and took a 7-1 lead after three innings. Scherzer did not make it to the fourth inning, but Verlander went on to pitch seven, allowing a home run in the first inning but allowing no further runs while striking out six batters. Houston tacked on another run in the fifth and four in the ninth to cruise to a 12-3 win.

“I couldn’t get all the way through the ball, couldn’t explode through the ball,” Scherzer said after the game. “I can go out there and compete. I went out there against Minnesota last time kind of with a similar issue and was able to compete and locate. … Today, just didn’t get it done and didn’t locate the ball well enough.”

In 26 starts this season, Scherzer has earned a 12-6 record with a 3.91 ERA, his highest since 2011. Though he has made several solid starts for Texas, he has not provided the punch many expected him to as the team fights for the division. While the Astros recently took the lead with an 80-61 record and the surging Mariners sit just behind them at 78-61, the Rangers are now three games back at 76-63.

After leading the division for most of the year, if the season ended today, the Rangers would not even have a postseason berth, as they are currently a half-game out of the last Wild Card spot behind the Toronto Blue Jays. Seven games against the Mariners at the end of the month may end up determining the season.

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen offered his thoughts Wednesday about his team’s recent activity ahead of the trade deadline. After entering the season with the highest payroll in MLB history, New York currently has a 50-57 record and has traded six key players in the span of one week.

In an effort to rebuild and acquire young prospects, the Mets have become aggressive sellers at the deadline, sending away Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, David Robertson, Tommy Pham, Mark Canha and Dominic Leone. Far removed from the win-now attitude they assumed before the season, the Mets now more closely resemble extremely young upstarts.

The team has arguably thrown away the 2023 season in favor of a more secure future, though Cohen remained coy about the organization’s plans going forward.

“I think the expectations were really high this year and my guess is next year they’ll be a lot lower,” Cohen said. “I can’t speak to what’s going to happen in the offseason. I’m opportunistic. I don’t want to roll a team out that we’re going to be embarrassed about. But, we also know that spending a fortune doesn’t guarantee a trip to the playoffs. I think we’ve got to look and see what we need. Obviously we need starting pitching, and that’s the key thing.”

As disappointing as the Mets have been this season, categorically failing to extract nearly enough from its prohibitively expensive starting rotation and underperforming bullpen, the prospects the team has acquired in the past week do offer some solace. Former Astros No. 1 prospect Drew Gilbert and former Rangers No. 3 prospect Luisangel Acuna stand out as especially promising future MLB players.

“We thought we got a great return for the people we ended up trading,” Cohen said. “We weren’t sure that was going to happen. We weren’t just going to do deals for the sake of doing deals. I would have kept the players if it turned out it was going to be a mediocre return. It’s a moment in time when other clubs were thinking very short term and I was thinking more intermediate, long term. And so, I was able to take advantage of that.”

Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. praised Luisangel, his younger brother, and his development in the Rangers’ farm system. He may one day face his brother as a division rival.

“My brother is more advanced and better than I was at his age. Maybe I was as talented, but not as advanced,” Acuna said through an interpreter.

In his first two seasons as the Mets’ owner, it’s clear that Cohen has learned the hard way that he cannot buy his way into the playoffs. The organization is taking a different path and did not hesitate to abruptly change course when it was not getting results.

“When you look at the probabilities, what we were at, 15% (to make the postseason)?” Cohen said. “And other teams were getting better, so you have to take the odds down from that. So, if you’re going to have a 12% chance of just getting into the playoffs, those are pretty crummy odds. I’ve said before – hope is not a strategy.”

In a rare press conference Wednesday, New York Mets owner Steve Cohen took responsibility for the team’s struggles in 2023. Despite entering the season with the highest payroll in baseball, the Mets are currently fourth in the NL East with a 36-44 record.

“All is not lost yet, but it’s getting late,” Cohen said before New York’s game Wednesday, a 5-2 loss to the Brewers. “I’m preparing my management team for all possibilities. If they don’t get better, we have decisions to make at the trade deadline. That’s not my preferred end result. We’re preparing all contingencies.”

In a historic spending spree following the 2022 season, the Mets signed Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, David Robertson and Jose Quintana while extending stars like Edwin Diaz and Brandon Nimmo. Now, the team is considering investments.

Cohen’s decision to speak to reporters is likely the result of his personal frustration, as he has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars in his short tenure as owner. He joins countless fans who are similarly upset with the team’s performance.

“It’s been incredibly frustrating,” Cohen said. “I watch every game, I watch what’s going on. Would I have expected us to be in this position at the beginning of the season? No. But here we are. It’s kind of weird. It’s kind of strange to me. I don’t know if the players are anxious. I don’t know if they’re pressing.”

The Mets’ last series win came on June 1 against the Phillies, and they have lost several since by blowing leads or pulling starters early. Though Cohen took responsibility as the owner, he also said that the players ultimately have to be the ones to overcome their struggles.

“It’s on the players. They are veterans,” Cohen said. “They have been there before … we will see if they can get their act together and string together some wins.”

For years, New York has leaned heavily on its starting pitching due to consistent woes on offense. This season, however, the offense has been generally competent, with young players like Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez complementing more established stars, but the pitching has fallen apart.

The Mets’ starting rotation is star-studded but ranks near the bottom of the league in nearly every significant category. Starters have struggled to reach six innings consistently, which has taken its toll on a bullpen that was already missing closer Diaz following his WBC injury. Relief pitcher Adam Ottavino, who allowed the Brewers to score two runs late in Wednesday’s game, agreed with Cohen that the players could do more.

“You gotta overcome stuff. Good teams overcome stuff. We’re not overcoming stuff,” Ottavino said.

Cohen went on to say that he would not fire manager Buck Showalter or general manager Billy Eppler during the season and also plans to eventually add a president of baseball operations, long rumored to be the Brewers’ David Stearns. He also said that the team could take a number of approaches at the trade deadline, however. If the team were to sell aging stars like Max Scherzer or Verlander, Cohen would likely have to eat a significant portion of the contract, as he did when he traded catcher James McCann to the Orioles earlier this year.

When he’s not running his hedge fund or doing laps in a pool full of gold coins, Steve Cohen is trying to win a World Series as the owner of the New York Mets. In fact, this 2022-23 offseason is demonstrating that he’s hell-bent on it following an eye-watering spending spree in November and early December.

It all started on Nov. 9, when the Mets agreed to a five-year, $102 million contract with star closer Edwin Diaz, making him the highest-paid relief pitcher in MLB history. New York got their guy and fans rejoiced as the team demonstrated a willingness to spend for him. But Cohen wasn’t even close to done.

Three days after Jacob deGrom signed with the Rangers, the Mets signed three-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander to a two-year, $86 million contract. The deal made him the highest-paid MLB pitcher for the 2023 season, tied with fellow Mets ace Max Scherzer, who received a nearly identical deal last year.

Two days later, Cohen threw some spare change around and signed former White Sox star Jose Quintana for two years and $26 million. It was merely a pallet freshener for the billionaire, as the following day, the front office finally settled with center fielder Brandon Nimmo, effectively locking him down for the rest of his career with an eight-year, $162 million deal. News minutes later that the team secured highly touted reliever David Robertson on a one-year, $10 million contract felt like an afterthought.

At the beginning of the offseason, it was generally agreed that the Mets needed to secure Nimmo and Diaz, re-sign or replace deGrom and bolster the bullpen and middle rotation. In the span of a month, the team has signed Nimmo, Diaz, Verlander, Quintana and Robertson while also making a few minor trades for more arms.

To accomplish this, Cohen has gone beyond what even he considered to be the team’s budget, as New York’s projected 2023 payroll should be higher than $300 million for the first time in league history. The punchline to all of this is that he isn’t done yet.

For fans and the front office alike, Japanese starting pitcher Kodai Senga seems to be the final piece of the puzzle, a right-hander with an arsenal of pitches to accompany a 96 MPH fastball. The star foreign prospect is reportedly seeking a long-term deal with a “win now” team and the Mets have expressed an intense interest in signing him. One has to assume that they’re in the running on spending power and roster potential alone. Nothing says “win now” in baseball more than Verlander, Scherzer and a $300 million payroll.

Last offseason, Cohen’s readiness to spend sent shockwaves through the league as the Mets went from affluent underachievers to prohibitive spenders in an instant. The team didn’t live up to expectations in 2022, losing the NL East to the Braves before exiting an unceremonious Wild Card series against the Padres. But the Mets’ new owner seems to have at least one solution for that, and as long as the checks keep cashing, it’s hard not to imagine the team from Queens as a legitimate heavyweight for the foreseeable future.

Jacob deGrom has made his decision and is signing with the Texas Rangers – and now the New York Mets will need to move to plan B.

The deal is reportedly for five years $185 million and he will get a full no-trade clause.

In addition, there is also a six-year conditional option included in the two-time Cy Young winner’s deal, which would take the contract up to $222 million.

The New York Post reports that the Mets’ offer to deGrom was only three years at $120 million – so there was not much of a bidding war.

That would have been a similar deal that the Mets were able to land Max Scherzer with last year.

Now, it is time to move to plan B for the Mets.

Some pitching options the Mets have been rumored about in the offseason are pitchers Carlos Rodon and the big-name of Justin Verlander.

The New York Yankees have been interested in Verlander, but Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the organization is more focused on signing Carlos Rodon.

Heyman also reported that the Houston Astros have been unwilling to give a Verlander a third year.

The 39-year-old is looking for a total of $130 million.

Along with the Mets, the Los Angeles Dodgers are believed to be interested in Verlander as well.

Verlander in 28 games last year commanded a 1.75 earned runs against average (ERA) and 185 strikeouts.

Verlander’s pedigree includes three Cy Young awards, one MVP and multiple World Series titles.

Of course, when signing players like Verlander there is always a concern about how much longer they will be able to sustain elite play for.

Also, another starting pitcher free agent for the Mets is Chris Bassitt.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Mets are “hoping” for him to come back next year.

Bassitt had a 3.42 ERA with the team last year.

Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander won the A.L. Cy Young Award Thursday morning, becoming the 11th player in MLB history to earn the honor three times. At 39 years old, Verlander was an integral member of the Astros’ championship-winning rotation, compiling an 18-4 record a 1.75 ERA and 185 strikeouts.

For the first time since 1968, both Cy Young winners in 2022 won by unanimous vote, as Verlander and N.L. winner Sandy Alcantara both had seasons that earned undisputed recognition. Unlike his younger counterpart from Miami, however, Verlander has been a mainstay at the highest level of baseball for more than a decade.

He earned his first Cy Young in 2011 with the Detroit Tigers, one year before the team appeared in the World Series. Managers use starting pitchers differently now than they did back then, so while it’s difficult to compare Verlander’s 28-year-old season to his 39-year-old season, his longevity is nevertheless a marvel.

It’s also earning him serious attention from multiple teams this offseason at a stage in his career when many are forced into retirement. Entering free agency, the reigning Cy Young is a puzzling case to consider as he nears age 40 — the best pitcher in baseball that is also certain to regress in the near future.

Though the Astros have offered to extend Verlander, the pitcher has stated that the market will ultimately determine his next team. The Mets, Yankees and Dodgers have all been rumored to be competing with Houston. Teams with larger payrolls are the only ones that seem capable of offering a larger, short-term contract that Verlander would require.

Any organization that acquires Verlander is looking to win as soon as possible. In a best-case scenario, he could remain strong for two to three more seasons like Roger Clemens, who won the Cy Young in 2004 at age 42. The worst-case scenario is that the culmination of years’ worth of wear and tear make an immediate impact in 2023.

For now, Verlander is the three-time Cy Young winner with multiple lucrative offers in free agency. His legacy as a Hall-of-Famer is ensured as he enters the volatile back end of his illustrious career.

In the first close game between the two teams since Game 1, the Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 on the road to take Game 5 of the World Series. The Astros are now one victory away from the championship and return home to Minute Maid Park for Game 6 on Saturday.

The Astros’ third win of the series followed two highly polarized games for Philadelphia’s offense, as the Phillies began their two-game home stand in Game 3 with a commanding 7-0 victory featuring five home runs. The next night in Game 4, four Astros pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter, the third in postseason history. Game 5 was less of a spectacle following those two games — a gritty defensive battle that seemed to favor both teams at certain points.

After taking a 2-1 lead and knocking Phillies starter Noah Syndergaard out of the game in the fourth inning, the Astros seemed to be in a solid position early with Justin Verlander on the mound. Verlander was looking to bounce back from a disastrous collapse in Game 1, in which the Phillies mounted a five-run comeback and won in extra innings.

Houston’s ace gave up a solo homer to Kyle Schwarber in the first but escaped jams in the second and third before encountering more trouble in the fifth. Bryce Harper doubled to right field with two outs and Nick Castellanos on deck. Manager Dusty Baker lingered in the dugout but ultimately didn’t make a call to the bullpen.

“I was considering after the Bryce double whether Dusty was gonna leave me in there or not,” Verlander said after the game. “I wasn’t sure.”

To escape his final frame of the night, Verlander had to endure a grueling 10-pitch at-bat against Castellanos, the catalyst for the Phillies’ comeback in Game 1. The hard-hitting outfielder eventually flew out to end the inning and Verlander exited the game after five innings, having allowed one run four hits and four walks.

Both teams failed to score for two innings thereafter before scoring one apiece in the eighth. If not for key defensive stops, both teams could have scored more, but the biggest play of the night didn’t come until the ninth.

With one out in the bottom of the final frame, center fielder Chas McCormick made a leaping into the wall to rob J.T. Realmuto of what would have been an extra-base hit. The catch stymied the Phillies’ final rally bid and allowed Houston to take the 3-2 win.

“I wanted to lay there longer,” McCormick said after the game. “If it were the last out, I would’ve laid there all night.”

With the help of McCormick and a massive defense effort, the Astros are now one game away from their second World Series title in franchise history. They will play at home Saturday in Game 6, and if needed, will also play in Minute Maid Park for Game 7 on Sunday to decide the championship.

Justin Verlander’s performance Wednesday night against the New York Yankees was singularly impressive, a solid six-inning outing in which he struck out 11 batters to give the Houston Astros a one-game lead in the ALCS. In the context of his career, however, it means even more, another chapter in the future Hall-of-Famer’s routine domination of the Bronx Bombers over the last decade.

Since 2011, Verlander has faced the Yankees in the postseason eight times as a member of the Detroit Tigers and Astros. The team he started for won six of those games, with the pair of losses coming eight years apart in 2011 and 2019. Between 2006 and 2019, the Yankees have faced off against teams featuring Verlander in five postseason series. They have never advanced past him.

Verlander’s most recent win Wednesday was the sixth straight time in which he has held the Yankees to five hits or less in the playoffs, allowing three on this occasion. Despite the loss in 2019, he has now held New York to two runs or less in five of their last six postseason matchups.

After reviewing this reign in full, it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that Verlander has been one of the key contributors to the Yankees’ postseason struggles over the last decade. Despite consistently strong regular season performances and healthy payrolls, the team has not reached the World Series since 2009. Many have argued that their power-hitting lineup has not been enough to compensate for a relatively weak starting rotation over the years.

Those issues seemed to be a thing of the past earlier this season when Gerrit Cole was nearly pitching like an ace and Nestor Cortes appeared as a sudden revelation. But then the team collapsed in the second half, and it took Aaron Judge’s historic home run chase to breathe new life into the team ahead of the postseason. After all these years, the 108-win Astros were still better in 2022, and Wednesday night’s game served as a cruel reminder. Despite his advanced age, Verlander continues to give the Yankees’ opponents the advantage in the playoffs.

Game 2 of the ALCS kicks off tonight, and though the Yankees won’t have to deal with Verlander again, Astros pitcher Frambler Valdez is a talent in his own right. New York pitcher Luis Severino, on the other hand, is still looking for his first postseason win against the Astros, having appeared in two losing efforts in 2017 and another in 2019. In his only playoff appearance this season, Severino allowed three runs to the Cleveland Guardians in a game the Yankees went on to lose 6-5. Cleveland’s offense is significantly weaker than Houston’s, which features Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman.

As New York proved against Cleveland, there’s life for the Yankees as long as there’s a game left to play. But Game 1 of the ALCS felt more like an inescapably familiar tune than anything new for the organization. The path to the World Series is as clear as it’s ever been, but Verlander and company remain the perpetual obstacle.

The Houston Astros have agreed to a one-year $25 million contract with right-hander Justin Verlander with the option for a second season.

Verlander won the American League Cy Young Award for Houston in 2019. He made just one appearance during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season due to injuries. He had surgery to repair an ulnar collateral ligament on September 30, 2020, and missed all of the 2021 season, his last before the end of his contract with the Astros.

Verlander rejected the Astros’ $18.4 million qualifying offer before agreeing to the contract with the Astros.

Houston acquired Verlander before the 2017 trade deadline, and he carried the Astros to win the World Series that year. He was named the AL Championship Series MVP by going 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA in the Astros’ seven-game series win over the New York Yankees. Verlander is a two-time Cy Young Award winner, also winning the award in 2011 with the Detroit Tigers when he set career bests with 24 victories and a 2.40 ERA.

The eight-time All-Star is 226-129 in his career with a 3.33 ERA over 17 seasons. He is one of two active pitchers with 3,000 strikeouts (3,013) in his career, along with Max Scherzer, who accomplished the feat this season.

With Verlander back in the fold, the Astros are expected to go into next season with Verlander, Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr., José Urquidy and Framber Valdez in their rotation in some order. Youngster Cristian Javier could slot in as the Number 6 starter or potentially move into a high-leverage bullpen role full-time.

Verlander is attempting to become only the 10th known pitcher to successfully return after needing Tommy John surgery following his 37th birthday. Considering one-time All-Star Noah Syndergaard agreed to a one-year, $21 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, the Verlander contract could prove to be a steal for the Astros if the future Hall of Famer is healthy.

It is the year of no-hitters in Major League Baseball. Detroit Tigers‘ Spencer Turnbull is the latest pitcher to record a no-hitter. His victim was the Seattle Mariners.

Turnbull produced the best performance of his career as he recorded his first career no-hitter. Turnbull struck out nine batters on a career-high 117 pitches. The only two batters that did reach first base were the ones he walked. Jarred Kelenic was walked in the fourth inning and Mariners’ first basemen Jose Marmolejos was walked after a full-count curveball missed wide in the ninth inning. 

Turnbull’s no-hitter was the Tigers’ eighth in franchise history and the first since Justin Verlander accomplished the feat in 2011.

Being the fifth no-hitter of the season, the occasion also marked the most no-hitters in the regular season since 2015. In 2015, seven no-hitters were thrown, which is tied for the second-most in a season. In 2016 and 2017, there was only one no-hitter, three in 2018 and four in 2019. Last year, there were only two no-hitters.

The Mariners have now been no-hit twice this season. Earlier this month, Baltimore Orioles pitcher John Means threw a no-hitter with 12 strikeouts against Seattle. The Mariners are the first team since 1900 to be no-hit twice in the same month.

However, the Mariners are not alone because the Cleveland Indians have also been no-hit twice this season. The Indians were recently no-hit earlier this month, courtesy by Wade Miley of the Cincinnati Reds.

There may be a new record-setting deal in the MLB with right-hander Gerrit Cole at the center of it all. The 29-year old, who had a fantastic 2019 season with the Houston Astros, has got the attention of the New York Yankees who have made this a clear offseason priority and have ownership-level approval to offer Cole a huge deal.

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New York is preparing for a bidding war with the Los Angeles Angels which executives expect to go well beyond $250 million, setting Cole up to smash David Price‘s $217 million contract for a pitcher.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have shown interest in Cole, although other priorities lie with potential bids for right-hander Stephen Strasburg and third basemen Anthony Rendon.

Cole’s agent, Scott Boras, has yet to solicit offers, but with interest coming from multiple teams, the deal’s timeline will most likely be expedited.

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The Yankees have shown a shift in the willingness to partake in big-money free-agent signings. In January 2014, free agent pitcher Masahiro Tanaka saw a $175 million contract and in 2017, outfielder Giancarlo Stanton signed one worth $295 million. The Yankees will have their hands full as a number of young stars will see escalating salaries, those including outfielder Aaron Judge, catcher Gary Sanchez, and infielder Gleyber Torres.

Cole is no stranger to the Yankees. In 2008, New York chose Cole 28th overall in the draft, but he went to UCLA instead. Three years later, he went number one overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Cole’s 2018 season with the Astros saw a 15-5 record with a 2.88 ERA. This year proved even better, posting a 20-5 record with a 2.50 ERA. He finished second to teammate Justin Verlander in American League Cy Young voting.

Although the Yankees have prioritized signing Cole, they have also said they will be pursuing the reigning World Series MVP Strasburg who opted out of the four years and $100 million left on his contract with the Nationals.

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The Yankees would prove to be a powerhouse in the American League East by adding Cole to their roster. And for Cole, it seems a very large payday is bound to make it his way.

The Houston Astros are in unfamiliar territory as they lost game four of the ALDS to the Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday night. These past three years, the Astros have cruised through the ALDS, defeating the Boston Red Sox in four games and sweeping the Cleveland Indians last year. The Rays have proven to be a different team in comparison to previous opponents.

Houston’s ace Justin Verlander didn’t rise to the occasion as he allowed four runs in 3.2 innings of work against Tampa. Those runs were more than enough for the Rays who handled the Astros bats efficiently, only allowing a single run to score. The Rays are now outscoring Houston in the series, even through the 1-2-3 punch of aces Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Zack Greinke.

Two straight bad  pitching performances have put the Astros in a spot they are not accustomed to.

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It now comes down to a do-or-die game five in Houston. The Astros will be deploying Cy Young candidate Cole, who already took care of the Rays once in game two, allowing one run in the contest. He showed how he had the single season best strikeout rate of 13.8 over nine innings when he struck out 15 in his last start against Tampa. He achieved that high number by getting the Rays lineup to swing and miss at 33 separate pitches. They could not figure him out.

The Rays will start Tyler Glasnow who boasts a 1.78 ERA in 12 starts this season. If it weren’t for an injury during the season, Glasnow might have been right up there to compete for Cy Young honors. If the Rays could pull this win off at Minute Maid Park, it would be the upset of the decade against one of the most successful teams in baseball as of recent years.

Game five will be Thursday at 7:07 p.m. on FS1.

Houston Astros and American League All-Star Game starting pitcher Justin Verlander told reporters in Cleveland on Monday that the balls used in Major League Baseball this season are “a f—ing joke.”

Verlander also said that he believes MLB is, “100%” implementing juiced baseballs.

Verlander, 36, has given up more home runs than any other starting pitcher in baseball this season with 26. Verlander’s high-fastball that sits at the hitter’s eye level is often susceptible to being hit out of the ballpark, wether there are juiced baseballs or not.

Overall, hitters across baseball have combined to hit 3,691 home runs, and are on pace to hit a combined 6,668 home runs by the end of the regular season. The current record for home runs hit across baseball in a Major League season currently stands at 6,105, which became the new record two years ago in 2017.

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Since 2014, the number of home runs hit across baseball spiked by 60%. The commissioner of Major League Baseball, Rob Manfred, launched an investigation to determine whether or not the baseballs were causing the spike in home run production. The investigation concluded that while the balls were performing differently, that it was indeterminable whether it was causing a spike in power production by Major League batters. After the investigation concluded, MLB bought Rawlings, the current suppliers of the baseballs used in Major League games.

“It’s a f—ing joke,” said Verlander, an eight-time All-Star who is starting his second All-Star Game on Tuesday. “Major League Baseball’s turning this game into a joke. They own Rawlings, and you’ve got Manfred up here saying it might be the way they center the pill. They own the f—ing company. If any other $40 billion company bought out a $400 million company and the product changed dramatically, it’s not a guess as to what happened. We all know what happened. Manfred the first time he came in, what’d he say? He said we want more offense. All of a sudden he comes in, the balls are juiced? It’s no coincidence. We’re not idiots.”

The MLB All-Star Game is set in Cleveland this year at Progressive Field for the first time since 1997. All the greatest players in MLB will showdown in a laid-back but competitive game at 7:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday.

For the National League team, Christian Yelich starts at left-field, despite injuring his back before the All-Star break and missing the Home Run Derby. Javier Baez from the Chicago Cubs starts at shortstop, while Atlanta Braves Freddie Freeman starts at first. Cody Bellinger starts at right-field opposite of Yelich, while Ronald Acuna Jr. starts in the center, the second Braves player in the starting lineup. Nolan Arenado and Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks complete the infield. Pittsburgh Pirates Josh Bell is the DH, while Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Hyun-jin Ryu starts on the mound, the second Dodgers player in the starting lineup. His manager, Dave Roberts is set to manage the team for the second year running.

For the American League, Houston Astros‘ Justin Verlander starts on the mound, while his teammates Michael Brandtley starts at left-field, George Springer on his opposite and Alex Bregman on third base. Jorge Polanco is surprisingly the only Minnesota Twins starter in the All-Star Game, starting at shortstop. New York Yankee duo DJ LeMahieu and Gary Sanchez start at second base and center field respectively, while Los Angeles Angles Mike Trout starts in the center. Boston Red Sox J.D. Martinez is set at DH, while Carlos Santana starts at first base. Defending World Series champion Alex Cora of the Red Sox is set to manage the AL team.

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“I don’t quite throw 100 anymore. Maybe I’ll try (Tuesday), I don’t know,” Verlander, the starting pitcher for the AL team said, according to USA Today. “But the goal is to get guys out. That’s it.”

There are 36 first-timers in this All-Star Game, including Santana, Polanco, Acuna Jr., Ryu and Bell in the starting lineups. The 90th All-Star Game will be broadcasted on FOX and can be streamed on the FOX Sports app and FuboTV.

The Houston Astros are one of MLB’s premier teams. After a steep decline following the departure of Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman, the team switched from the National League to the American League after the 2012 season. While AL teams rejoiced it at the time, figuring that their competition got a bit easier, they’d regret it soon enough.

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By 2015, three years removed from the worst record in all of baseball, the Astros would be a real playoff threat. Dallas Keuchel, Carlos Correa, and Jose Altuve pushed the team for the next two years but they never advanced further than the divisional series.

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When Houston was ravaged by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the Astros became a rallying cry for the city. They clinched their first-ever AL West divisional title, despite playing multiple home games in other teams parks due to massive flooding throughout Houston. The Astros defeated the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS, the New York Yankees in the ALCS, and then beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games in the World Series, bringing a title back to Houston when it needed it the most. Altuve was named AL MVP that year.

In 2018, the Astros would have similar regular season success but couldn’t capitalize on it in the playoffs. They swept the Cleveland Indians in the divisional series but fell in five games to the Red Sox shortly afterwards.

This year, the team features Altuve, Correa, ace Justin Verlander, and slugger George Springer. They should only continue to steamroll opponents in a relatively week AL West Division. Currently, they’re undefeated at home in four games.

On April 9 and 10, the Astros take on the Yankees at Minute Maid Park in Houston. While still early in the season, the game could be a preview of a playoff series. Expect both teams to compete with an added grit. Tickets for that series start at $20.

Following those two games, the Astros head out to Seattle to take on the Mariners. Tickets for the three-game series range from $22 to $218.

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Then, Houston will take on the Oakland Athletics. The two-game series will continue an essential road trip of interdivisional play. Tickets are only $9 for the Wednesday, April 17 matchup.

Here’s the rest of the Astros schedule for the month of April:

4/9 – VS New York Yankees

4/10 – VS New York Yankees

4/12 – @ Seattle Mariners

4/13 – @ Seattle Mariners

4/14 – @ Seattle Mariners

4/16 – @ Oakland A’s

4/17 – @ Oakland A’s

4/19 – @ Texas Rangers

4/20 – @ Texas Rangers

4/21 – @ Texas Rangers

4/22 – VS Minnesota Twins

4/23 – VS Minnesota Twins

4/24 – VS Minnesota Twins

4/25 – VS Cleveland Indians

4/26 – VS Cleveland Indians

4/27 – VS Cleveland Indians

4/28 – VS Cleveland Indians

4/29 – @ Minnesota Twins

4/30 – @ Minnesota Twins

Houston Astros star Justin Verlander called out the excuse that rebuilding teams hurt the market for big free agents. On Monday, he tweeted: “100 or so free agents left unsigned. System is broken. They blame “rebuilding” but that’s BS. You’re telling me you couldn’t sign Bryce or Manny for 10 years and go from there? Seems like a good place to start a rebuild to me. 26-36 is a great performance window too.”

Verlander Comments On MLB Free Agency

Like last year, the top free agents of the class are still unsigned. Boston Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez went unsigned until February 20 and top pitcher Jake Arrieta didn’t sign with the Philadelphia Phillies until well into March. The common write-off was that they were aging players, well past their prime. But this year, 26-year-olds Manny Machado and Bryce Harper are still unsigned in mid-February. To have a superstar from 26 to 34 seems like a prime time for a rebuilding team, especially since the players may be three years away from their primes. But instead, a hesitation to spend money by owners in the only sport without a salary cap and some allegations of collusion have killed the free agency market.

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That’s not to mention that the current baseball Collective Bargaining Agreement has hurt everyone involved. Younger players are under six years of team control in the majors before they are free to negotiate. Take Cesar Hernandez, who signed with the Phillies on July 2, 2006, as a 16-year-old. He won’t become a free agent until after the 2020 season and 14.5 years of team control, meaning 14.5 years of undervalued talent. Older players — the ones most likely to negotiate the CBA because minor leaguers and international players have no say — now see their contract offers dry up as teams realize they can get a similar amount of production for a fraction of the price from young players. Because of short-sighted negotiating by the MLB Players’ Association, everyone but the owners win. Minor leaguers bring in money while getting paid almost nothing. Shohei Ohtani and similar international players get much less than market value. Young players are used up till their contract runs out and old players are left waiting for the contracts of the mid-2000s. Meanwhile, the owners reap the rewards of all of this.

On the same day as the Verlander tweet, David Samson, former president of the Miami Marlins, tweeted “There is a problem that will not be fixed by players systematically tweeting about the broken system. The reality is that players and agents have to adjust to a new reality.”

Christian Yelich, who the Marlins traded away before his MVP season, shot back: “Consistent with your anti player rhetoric but adjusting to this “new reality” isn’t exactly the solution either.”

The current MLB CBA does not expire until December 2021.

The with the MLB All-Star game in the rearview mirror, the pro baseball season has officially hit its halfway point. While there are still a little over two months for players to prove why they deserve awards come October, it’s always fun to examine who would take home the hardware if the season were to end today. That being the case, let’s talk about our midseason award winners and how the race could look by the time the postseason comes around.

american league mvp: josé ramírez, third baseman, cleveland indians

2018 stats: .304 BA, 30 HR, 72 RBI, 70 R, 20 SB, .404 OBP, .637 SLG, 7.0 WAR

For the first couple of months of the 2018 season, it seemed as though LA Angels center fielder Mike Trout would run away with his third MVP award, but José Ramírez has been unbelievable for just about all of 2018 so far. They’re still neck-and-neck at this point, but I’m going to give the slight edge to Ramírez, who leads all of baseball in home runs and is second only to Boston’s JD Martinez RBIs among American League players. Ramírez’s Indians are also first in the AL Central, while the Angels are stewing at an even 50-50, although that’s only good for fourth place in a fantastic AL West, another reason as to why I’m giving him the midseason AL MVP.It’ll be a tight race for the remainder of the year and Trout could easily come out on top, but Ramírez has my vote so far.

Runner-up: Mike Trout, Center Fielder, Los Angeles Angels

Third Place: Mookie Betts, Right Fielder, Boston Red Sox

national league mvp: nolan arenado, third baseman, colorado rockies

2018 stats: .310 BA, 25 HR, 72 RBI, 66 R, 2 SB, .394 OBP, .592 SLG, 4.0 WAR

After finishing as a Silver Slugger, Gold Glove winner, and in the top 8 in MVP votes every year since 2015, 2018 seems to finally be Nolan Arenado’s year to bring home the MVP. Not only is he on pace to maintain his status as one of the most statistically dominant, but his Rockies could very well have their best final record of Arenado’s tenure with the team by the end of the season. They sit in third place in a very strong NL West and only a game and a half out of the second Wild Card spot, so we could very well see them in the postseason. Sure, this is in part due to the National League being extremely weak this year, but you can’t deny Arenado’s prowess both at the plate and in the hot corner.

Runner-up: Max Scherzer, Starting Pitcher, Washington Nationals

Third Place: Jacob deGrom, Starting Pitcher, New York Mets

american league cy young: chris sale, starting pitcher, boston red sox

2018 stats: 11-4, 2.13 ERA, 0.894 WHIP, 197 SO, 135.0 IP, 6.0 WAR

Another year, another season of dominance from Chris Sale. Since 2012, Sale has never finished lower than sixth in AL Cy Young voting, and 2018 could very well be his best season yet. He’s on pace to have a career best in both ERA and WHIP, both of which are currently good for second place in all of baseball. The Red Sox also have the best record among all Major League teams, which only helps Sale’s shot at garnering his first ever Cy Young.

Runner-up: Justin Verlander, Starting Pitcher, Houston Astros

Third Place: Luis Severino, Starting Pitcher, New York Yankees

National league cy young: max scherzer, Starting Pitcher, Washington Nationals

2018 stats: 13-5, 2.43 ERA, 0.924 WHIP, 189 SO, 140.2 IP, 5.7 WAR

It has been a crazy tight NL Cy Young race between Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom over the first half of the 2018 season. Both pitchers have been absolutely lights out, so much so that they are both making solid cases for MVP honors as well as the NL Cy Young, but I have to give the slightest of edges to Scherzer as of right now for one main reason: the huge discrepancy between their two records. Scherzer’s 13-5 is far superior to deGrom’s 5-4, although this is obviously largely due to the Nationals being a way better team than the Mets. Nonetheless, Cy Young voters take records into account, and while I don’t think it should play as big a role as it does, it has to put Scherzer over deGrom despite the latter’s superior 1.68 ERA. Come season’s end, Scherzer may actually just run away with the NL Cy Young, given the high probability of deGrom being traded to an AL team, but that’s neither here nor there at the moment.

Runner-up: Jacob deGrom, Starting Pitcher, New York Mets

Third Place: Aaron Nola, Starting Pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies

American League Rookie of the year: shohei ohtani, starting pitcher/designated hitter, los angeles angels

2018 batting stats: .282 BA, 7 HR, 22 RBI, 24, R, 2 SB, .363 OBP, .513 SLG, 2.3 WAR

2018 pitching stats: 4-1, 3.10 ERA, 1.135 WHIP, 61 SO, 49.1 IP, 2.3 WAR

Separately, the two stat lines above aren’t necessarily numbers which indicate an Rookie of the Year winner, but they’re something pretty special when you put them together. During the past offseason, Ohtani was one of the most hyped up prospects I’ve ever seen, and while he certainly hasn’t been the “Japanese Babe Ruth” so far, he has been mostly capable of living up to those lofty expectations. He’s been excellent both on the mound as well as at the plate, with his midseason RotY chances only being hurt due to the fact that he missed most of June with an elbow injury. However, given the fact that Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres is the most probable runner-up at this point despite having made his Major League debut toward the end of April, it sort of balances out.

Runner-up: Gleyber Torres, Second Baseman, New York Yankees

Third Place: Miguel Andújar, Third Baseman, New York Yankees

National league rookie of the year: Juan Soto, left fielder, washington nationals

2018 stats: .311 BA, 10 HR, 31 RBI, 34 R, 2 SB, .422 OBP, .546 SLG, 1.2 WAR

The NL Rookie of the Year race is a tough one to judge, as both Juan Soto and Marlins third baseman Brian Anderson go back and forth in terms of who leads specific statistical categories, but they have vastly different WARs. Anderson has a WAR of 2.7, which is obviously far superior to Soto’s 1.2. However, I’m making the case for Soto despite this, considering that he debuted in the Majors on May 20, while Anderson started out the 2018 season on the Marlins roster. Over the past two months, Soto has been by far the best rookie in the National League and I believe he’ll finish 2018 with the NL RotY in tow. I mean, on June 29, he became the first teenager in MLB history to record a 4-hit game, in which he also hit  a pair of home runs. It’s a toss up due to Soto’s dominance and Anderson’s longevity, but I have to give the edge to Soto considering how incredible he has been.

Runner-up: Brian Anderson, Third Baseman, Miami Marlins

Third Place: Seranthony Dominguez, Relief Pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies

All Justin Verlander could do was throw his hands up and hang his head, as the Detroit Tigers suffered a crushing 9-3 home loss to the Cleveland Indians on Sunday afternoon.

Justin Verlander Allows Record Four HRs In Fifth As Tigers Fall 9-3 To Indians

The Indians have now won nine straight and improved to 9-0 against Detroit this season, while the Tigers have dropped three consecutive games: all three of the games in their home series against Cleveland. The Tigers were also outscored 22-7 and have fallen back to the .500 mark and stand seven games back in the American League Central.

“I’m glad it’s still June,” said manager Brad Ausmus. 

However, Detroit’s troubles at Comerica Park didn’t stop there.

In the fifth inning of Sunday’s series finale, Verlander allowed four home runs. The starting right-hander is now the first Tiger in history to do so, according to STATS, Inc.

“Today was obviously horrible,” the 33-year-old veteran said. “I got started out alright but just that one inning, I kind of fell apart.”

Juan Uribe and Tyler Naquin opened the inning with back-to-back homers. With two outs, Mike Napoli hit a two-run shot to left-centerfield. Then, Lonnie Chisenhall hit a two-run shot to right field.

“It sucks because I worked my tail off the last month or month and a half and to have one start blow up in your face sucks,” Verlander said. “I wish I could have done a better job for our team today. It would have been a big win for us but it didn’t happen the way anybody drew up, so press forward.”

Verlander tied a career high, allowing eight earned runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. He also struck out five and walked two.

Ausmus seemed to struggle to explain his team’s up-and-down season filled with alternating winning and losing streaks.

“It seems like big swings in how we’re playing,” Ausmus said. “It’s kind of been that way all year.”

The Tigers offense also appeared to have difficulty figuring out Indians right-hander Josh Tomlin, off whom they only managed three runs, all solo home runs.

Mike Aviles opened the scoring with a solo homer in the second inning. This marked the first time all season that the Tigers held a lead over the Indians, spanning 75 innings.

After Cleveland regained the lead with two runs on two hits and two walks in the top of the third, Victor Martinez tied the game with a solo home run in the bottom half.

Martinez added another, his 14th of the season, in the sixth inning. It was his ninth career multi-home run game, although it was not ultimately enough to save Detroit.

“It’s frustrating to lose a series like this at home, especially when we came in playing very well,” Verlander said. “So you can’t dwell on what’s already happened.”

Clearly, the Tigers have not been playing as well as they typically can.

“We’re a much better team than this,” catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia said.

The Tigers (38-38, 3rd in AL Central) have Monday off before hosting the Miami Marlins for a two-game series beginning Tuesday night. Right-hander Mike Pelfrey will start after coming off a strong relief appearance last Friday, in which he allowed three hits over 4 1/3 shutout innings.

Meanwhile, the Indians (44-30, 1st in AL Central) will begin a three-game series against the Braves in Atlanta on Monday. Right-hander Trevor Bauer, who shut out the Rays in his last outing, will take the mound.

PHOTO: DETROIT, MI – JUNE 26: Justin Verlander #35 of the Detroit Tigers pitches during the second inning of the game against the Cleveland Indians on June 26, 2016 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)