Mets and Justin Verlander Agree on Two-Year, $86 Million Contract

DeGrom, who won two N.L. Cy Young Awards as a member of the Mets, agreed to a five-year, $185 million deal with Texas on Friday.

With Verlander, who turns 40 on Feb. 20, the Mets chose to offer bigger dollars and a shorter term than the deal deGrom got from the Rangers. Verlander’s deal includes a $35 million vesting option for 2025 if he pitches at least 140 innings in 2024.

Verlander had signed a two-year, $50 million contract with Houston last off-season, but he became a free agent after opting out of the $25 million salary he was owed for 2023. He and the Astros owner Jim Crane had some conversations about Verlander staying in Houston but, instead, for the first time in his career, Verlander will move into the N.L.

After Scherzer and Verlander, the Mets’ projected 2023 rotation currently includes the right-handers Carlos Carrasco and Tylor Megill and the left-hander David Peterson. The right-handers Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker, who were part of the Mets’ 2022 rotation, are free agents.

Verlander had also been talking to the Los Angeles Dodgers before agreeing with the Mets, and not long before his deal was reported, the Dodgers made it official that they had signed the left-hander Clayton Kershaw to a one-year, $20 million deal for 2023. The Dodgers and Kershaw had come to terms last month but had not formalized a contract because the club wanted to preserve an open roster spot and maneuverability.

But with Verlander agreeing to terms with the Mets, the need for at least one open roster spot suddenly was not so needed in Los Angeles.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/05/sports/baseball/justin-verlander-mets.html