Justin Verlander will turn 43 in the offseason, but he’s been vocal at multiple points — both this year and in the past — about wanting to continue pitching into his mid-40s. He said as much in early August, and Verlander doubled down on that desire this week in an interview with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Manager Bob Melvin and young outfielder Drew Gilbert both lauded Verlander and what he brings to the team when chatting with Nightengale, and the sentiment runs further up the chain. President of baseball operations Buster Posey told Markus Boucher and Todd Husak of KNBR just yesterday that he’d like to being Verlander back for another season (audio link).
“Yeah, definitely,” Posey said when asked whether his team would have interest in a reunion. “It’s something we’ll have to discuss, but [we do] for a multitude of reasons. He’s been a great teammate. He’s helped some of our younger guys learn how to prepare, and he just sets an example by going out and performing, continuing to show up. So yeah, it’s definitely something we’d be open to.”
Verlander’s season got out to a bit of a rocky start, but he’s dialed the clock back and looked almost ageless over the past couple months. His season-long 3.75 ERA in 141 2/3 innings pitched is impressive for anyone, let alone a 42-year-old, but his recent work looks straight out of 2009-14.
Dating back to July 23, Verlander touts a sparkling 2.17 ERA in 62 1/3 innings. He’s whiffed 23.2% of his opponents along the way and limited walks at an 8.1% clip. Even more incredibly, he’s allowed just three total runs over his past five starts — a span of 31 innings. Verlander has held his opponent scoreless in four of his past seven trips to the mound, averaging better than six innings per start along the way. The 24-year-old Gilbert, speaking with Nightengale, called Verlander’s current run “inhuman” and discussed how surreal it is to be sharing a clubhouse with “one of the greatest pitchers of all-time” and someone he’s been watching for essentially his whole life. Melvin marveled in similar fashion.
“I get to talk about about (Verlander) and a milestone and him passing somebody – Gaylord Perry, Walter Johnson – almost every start now,” the veteran skipper said. “…To be pitching this well late in the season, with this much under his belt at this point, it’s pretty remarkable.”
While Verlander’s performance in 2025 — particularly down the stretch — should lead to substantial offseason interest both from the Giants and pitching-needy clubs around the league, it’s still difficult to imagine anyone guaranteeing him multiple years. That said, he’ll be coming off a far better season this winter than he was last offseason. Verlander’s final year in Houston saw him make 17 starts with a 5.48 ERA in 90 1/3 innings. This year’s rebound should allow him to secure a comparable, if not larger salary than the $15MM guarantee he received with the Giants for the 2025 campaign.
Verlander has already received a qualifying offer in the past, so the Giants won’t have the option to make him one following the season. Given the right-hander’s age and his outside shot at reaching 300 wins in his career — he’s currently 35 victories short but has previously expressed interest in pitching until he’s 45 — it’s fair to presume that Verlander will limit himself to contending, win-now clubs. It also stands to reason that there’ll be more competition for his services this offseason than there was last time around. The Giants clearly have interest, but they’ll be far from his only suitor.
