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Verlander agreed to a one-year, $13 million contract with the Tigers on Tuesday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
The veteran right-hander spent the 2025 campaign in San Francisco, finishing the season with a 3.85 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 137:52 K:BB across 152 innings. Verlander is now coming back to Detroit, where he won Rookie of the Year, an MVP and a Cy Young Award across the first 13 seasons of his big-league career. He'll turn 43 years old on Feb. 20 and will help round out a Tigers rotation headlined by Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez.
Verlander (4-11) earned the win against the Rockies on Saturday, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out seven across six innings.
Verlander got off to a shaky start by yielding solo home runs to Hunter Goodman and Brenton Doyle in the first and second innings, respectively. The veteran right-hander managed to settle in to keep the Rockies off the board for the rest of his outing, and he finished his quality start with 17 whiffs on 92 pitches. Verlander struggled in the first half of the season, failing to log a win while posting a 4.70 ERA and 1.42 WHIP across 76.2 innings prior to the All-Star break. However, the three-time Cy Young winner came alive after the break, going 4-4 across 14 starts with an impressive 2.99 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 70:26 K:BB over 75.1 frames. Verlander will turn 43 in February but intends to continue his storied major-league career in 2026, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Verlander (3-11) took the loss Monday, allowing six runs (four earned) on nine hits and two walks over 4.1 innings against the Cardinals. He struck out three.
Verlander labored against the Cardinals on Monday, failing to get through five innings while surrendering his highest hit total since Aug. 10. The outing ended an impressive run in which the right-hander logged a 0.87 ERA and 1.03 WHIP across 31 innings over his previous five starts. Now in his age-42 season, the veteran owns a 3.88 ERA and 1.38 WHIP through 28 starts and 146 innings, and he's lined up for one final regular-season start Sunday against the Rockies.
Giants' Justin Verlander: Blanks D-backs in no-decision
Rotowire
Verlander came away with a no-decision in Wednesday's 5-1 extra-innings win over Arizona, allowing three hits and two walks over seven scoreless innings. He struck out three.
The 42-year-old right-hander fired 67 of 107 pitches for strikes as he gave up two runs or fewer for a fifth straight start, but he got stuck with a no-decision since neither team's offense woke up until the 11th inning. Verlander has re-discovered something close to his old Cy Young form at the right time for the Giants as they try to claw their way into a wild-card spot, and over that five-start hot streak he sports a 0.87 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 28:12 K:BB in 31 innings. Verlander will try to stay locked in for his next trip to the mound, which lines up to come at home early next week against the Cardinals.
Giants' Justin Verlander: Goes seven innings in pitching duel
Rotowire
Verlander allowed one run on four hits and four walks while striking out four over seven innings in a no-decision versus the Dodgers on Friday.
Verlander was good, throwing 67 of 105 pitches for strikes, but Yoshinobu Yamamoto was even sharper as the two pitchers dueled for seven frames. Over his last six starts, Verlander has allowed just 10 runs (nine earned) in 35.1 innings while posting a 37:11 K:BB. The one run on his line Friday was a solo home run by Michael Conforto, which was the first long ball Verlander has given up during his recent stretch of strong pitching. The 42-year-old right-hander is now at a 3.94 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 124:47 K:BB through 134.2 innings across 26 starts this season. His next start is projected to be at Arizona.
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