Verlander: 'I couldn’t be more excited to be a Met'

Veteran hurler Justin Verlander purportedly has chosen the New York Mets for the next chapter of his lengthy career. 

The 39-year-old righty is believed to have agreed to bolster the Mets pitching staff to the tune of $86 million for two years, per a report from ESPN.

Verlander is fresh from a 2022 campaign in which he successfully returned to form after injuries and subsequent medical procedures kept him from the mound for two years. 

He translated a one-year deal he inked with the Astros in late 2021 into a second World Series championship and a third American League (AL) Cy Young triumph. 

The celebratory confetti was barely removed from the field at Minute Maid Park when Verlander entered free agency and was courted by teams starving for stellar pitching, with the Mets reportedly securing his services.

Once the Mets’ agreement with Verlander is made official, it ends his six-year association with the Astros, whom he joined via a trade with the Detroit Tigers in 2017. 

"We still have to find that guy that does what Verlander did for us," fourth-year manager Dusty Baker, who won his first Fall Classic as a skipper with Verlander’s help, said per ESPN. “He would stop all losing streaks.” 

It’ll be the first time Verlander competes in the National League (NL).

An Associated Press (AP) article that was ran by Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported that Verlander supposedly confided in his younger brother Ben of his excitement playing for the Mets. 

“My goal is to win,” the elder Verlander said, per the AP. “And I couldn’t be more excited to be a Met." 

The AP reported that Verlander turned down a $25 million option from the incumbent World Series champions barely a week after they defeated the Philadelphia Phillies for Major League Baseball’s (MLB) top prize.