Justin Verlander earns 250th big-league win, but was it his last start for Mets?
Justin Verlander #35 of the New York Mets walks to the dugout as he leaves a game during the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field on Sunday, July 30, 2023. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Justin Verlander, who earned his 250th big-league win in the Mets’ 5-2 victory over the Nationals at Citi Field on Sunday, may have made his last start as a Met.
Verlander said after the game that the trades of David Robertson and Max Scherzer — especially Scherzer — have made him more open to waiving his no-trade clause before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline.
“When you see that happen, you can’t help but [think about] what’s in store for next year,” Verlander said. “We play this game to win. You want to win a championship and you want to have the opportunity to do so. So it changes my opinion a little bit, yeah.”
Asked if he knows what he will decide if the Mets approach him about accepting a trade, Verlander said: “I guess leave it in fate’s hands. See what happens. Obviously, I have a no-trade clause, so I have some ability to control my destiny. I guess I’m just the type of person that likes to gather information. No idea who’s interested, what’s going on, who [general manager Billy Eppler] has been speaking with.
“I think it largely depends on how the organization views next year . . . I’m committed to trying to win a championship here, but if the organization decides that’s not exactly the direction that they think is the best fit, to go for it next year and go for it again, then I would be more open to it.”
Verlander, 40, is in the first year of a two-year, $86.7 million contract he signed with the Mets this past offseason that includes a $35 million vesting option for 2025. Verlander has a full no-trade clause, but so did Scherzer, and Scherzer’s going to be making his next start as a member of the Rangers.
Verlander allowed one run and five hits with one walk and five strikeouts. He received a sustained ovation as he departed what could have been his final start as a Met.
Even if he wasn’t thinking about that, the 33,861 in attendance apparently were.
“That was a nice ovation,” Verlander said. “I don’t know what’s to come, but that I’ll always remember and appreciate.”
In his last nine outings, Verlander is 4-2 with a 1.95 ERA. Overall, he’s 6-5, 3.15.
Of winning No. 250, the most among active pitchers, Verlander said: “It’s pretty special . . . Pretty cool.”
The only down note for Verlander or a potential trade-deadline suitor was that it took him 103 pitches to get 16 outs against the less-than-imposing Nationals. But it was good enough to help the Mets take three of four from Washington as Francisco Lindor hit his 21st home run and Pete Alonso drove in two runs.
While discussing Sunday’s trade of Scherzer to Texas, Eppler would not talk about the possibility of trading any other specific current Mets.
“We’re going to listen,” he said. “But our price points are high. We have valuations on our existing personnel and the bar is high to meet it.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
