Justin Verlander’s likely landing spots in trade window
The Mets are almost certain to shed themselves of Justin Verlander in the next 24 hours. We look at where he is most likely to land.
The New York Mets have turned the league upside down over the past few seasons. With deep pockets and a devil-may-car attitude, Steve Cohen has splashed cash picking up some of the biggest names in baseball. And it almost worked.
A 101-win season in 2022 seemed to portent big success just around the corner. After signing two of the best pitchers in the league, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, the Mets felt only a year or two from a World Series title. The first was coming off of a blistering run with the Dodgers while the second was a World Series champ and Cy Young winner. Things seemed so rosy.
That was then, this is now.
Fast forward to the trade deadline and Scherzer has been traded to the Texas Rangers, and Verlander is almost certain to follow him out the door. But where will he land? Let’s take a look across the landscape.
Just two days ago, Verlander looked like the prime target for the Texas Rangers. Scherzer had made noise about wanting to leave New York a month earlier and the Rangers looked interested, but tepid, on the idea. Perhaps that was a bit of gamesmanship on their part, but now that they have signed him, it seems a stretch, even for Ray Davis, to pick up two big money salaries in this trade window. Never say never, but it is unlikely.
Another idea that has taken hold with the Houston fanbase is a possible return to the Astros for Verlander. And while this is not strictly speaking an impossibility, it isn’t one that seems to have much traction outside of hopeful Astros fan circles. Justin left Houston on top of the world and on good terms with ownership, but it feels like a step back after only seven months.
At the moment, the buzz around MLB is that the Los Angeles Dodgers are in pole position to land Justin Verlander. That would see a national league rival take him off the Mets’ hands and the Dodgers are currently in the middle of bolstering their own rotation, given the impact that injuries have had on their stellar cast. With a long history of taking the best arms that MLB has on offer, nearly every Hall of Fame level pitcher in recent years has had a sojourn in Chavez Ravine.
Interestingly, one of the main reasons for discounting Houston and Texas is Justin Verlander’s wife, Kate Upton. She has reportedly been very happy in New York, and while a trip back down south is not entirely out of the question, one feels that she might be happier in Los Angeles than Arlington.
We won’t have long to wait, but if I were a betting man, I would put money on Justin Verlander wearing Dodger blue by tomorrow.