Houston Astros Legend, Future Hall of Famer Agrees to Deal With Giants

There will be no reunion between the Houston Astros and their right-handed starter, as he is headed for the west coast.

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The Houston Astros will not be bringing back a fan favorite and future Hall of Fame pitcher.

As first reported by ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan, right-handed pitcher Justin Verlander has agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the San Francisco Giants ending a run of seven years across two stints with the Astros.

The deal, which is pending a physical, sees the 42-year-old Verlander pitching on the West Coast for the first time in his career and is a low-risk, high-reward type signing for a Giants team that needed depth in their rotation more urgently than Houston.

A reunion with the Astros always still felt like it could be in the cards for the three-time Cy Young winner, but with a report emerging this week that a number of teams were interested in the services of Verlander and Houston having a good bit of young pitching depth, the possibility began to wane in the final hours of the sweepstakes.

Verlander will always be remembered among Astros faithful fondly as the key focal point to the most dominant run of baseball in franchise history, helping the team win two World Series banners including the most dominant season of his career just two years ago in 2022. His 1.75 ERA, 18-4 record, and 0.829 WHIP were all the best figures of his career and ended in storybook fashion by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.

Now, Verlander will have the opportunity to mentor a young San Francisco pitching staff with high potential to get his career back on track after a rough 2024 season and lead the Giants rotation as an ace once again.