Mets sign three-time Cy Young Justin Verlander

*FLUSHING, N.Y., December 7, 2022 – *The New York Mets announced today that the club has signed three-time Cy Young Award winner and 2011 American League Most Valuable Player Justin Verlander to a two-year contract. The deal runs through the 2024 season and includes a vesting option for 2025.

Verlander, 39, won a World Series championship with Houston last season and was a unanimous selection for his third career American League Cy Young Award. He led the major leagues with a career-best 1.75 ERA (34 ER/175.0 IP) and 0.83 WHIP and paced the AL with 18 wins. He was named an All-Star for the ninth time in his career and earned AL Comeback Player of the Year honors.

“Alex and I are delighted to welcome Justin, his wife, Kate, and their daughter into our Mets family,” Mets Owner, Chairman and CEO Steve Cohen said. “We feel a deep connection with his drive to succeed and we know Mets fans will love watching him pitch.”

The 17-year major league veteran finished the 2022 season ranked 12th all-time and first among active pitchers with 3,198 strikeouts. He is also the active leader in wins with 244 career victories.

“Justin Verlander is, by every standard, one of the game’s most accomplished players,” Mets General Manager Billy Eppler said. “I want to thank Steve and Alex Cohen for their continued commitment to bringing top-tier talent to New York. We are all looking forward to watching Justin author another chapter in the rich pitching history of this franchise.”

Verlander will be the eighth pitcher to suit up for the Mets after winning multiple Cy Young Awards. New York’s other multi-Cy winners include: Tom Seaver, Bret Saberhagen, Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez, Johan Santana, Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer. No other franchise has employed more than four multiple Cy Young Award-winning hurlers.

With Verlander and Scherzer, the 2023 Mets will be one of three teams in major league history to feature multiple three-time Cy Young Award winners on its roster in the same season (Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw on the 2021 Dodgers, Steve Carlton and Tom Seaver with the 1986 White Sox).

In 102 starts with Houston after joining the Astros in 2017, Verlander went 61-19 with a 2.26 ERA (164 ER/652.0 IP), winning two of his three Cy Young Awards. Since his Astros debut in September 2017, he leads the majors with a 0.83 WHIP, .184 opponent batting average and .763 winning percentage. His 2.26 ERA was the best mark in the AL from his Astros debut through the end of 2022.

A two-time world champion, the 2017 ALCS Most Valuable Player has more Postseason strikeouts (230) than any pitcher in major league history and ranks in the top five all-time in Postseason wins (16, second), starts (34, tied for third) and innings pitched (207.2, fourth). Verlander has pitched in five World Series, making a total of nine Fall Classic starts.

Verlander is one of just two players in major league history to be named Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year (2006), Cy Young (2011, 2019, 2022) and Most Valuable Player (2011), joining Don Newcombe. He won the pitching Triple Crown in 2011 en route to winning both the AL MVP and Cy Young Award. In 17 major league seasons with Detroit and Houston, Verlander is 244-133 in 482 starts with a 3.24 ERA (1,139 ER/3,163.0 IP).