Astros on trade for veteran ace Verlander: 'Back where he belongs'

With a few hours to go before the 6 p.m. Eastern Major League Baseball (MLB) trade deadline on Aug. 1, the Houston Astros made a swap with the New York Mets that facilitated the return of a familiar face in 40-year-old veteran ace Justin Verlander. After the trade, the Astros included the reigning American League (AL) Cy Young Award winner on the 40-man roster by designating infielder Joe Perez for assignment.

“Back where he belongs,” the Astros said in a post on X, the platform formally known as Twitter.

According to the incumbent World Series champions' X post on Augist 1, they sent minor league outfielders Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford to the Mets in exchange for Verlander, who left Houston via free agency a month after helping the team secure the second Fall Classic triumph in six years. Following the trade, the Astros designated infielder Joe Perez for assignment to include the reigning American League (AL) Cy Young Award winner on the 40-man roster.

Karl Stern | law.com

It’s the second time Verlander became an Astro via trade. He first came to Houston at the twilight of the 2017 season after a lengthy career with the Detroit Tigers. In half a decade with the Astros, Verlander garnered two of his three career Cy Young Awards, collected two World Series rings, and registered his third career no-hitter, a report on the team’s website said.

The Astros said that a meeting with the future Hall of Famer is slated for Aug. 3 in New York City, where they have a weekend series against the New York Yankees, a rematch of last year’s American League Championship Series (ALCS). Per the team, Verlander’s first game in an Astros uniform since collecting his first Fall Classic win against the Philadelphia Phillies could be against the Yankees. The righty initially left Space City after agreeing to a two-year, $86 million agreement with the Mets. His departure from the Big Apple came shortly after fellow hurler Max Scherzer was shipped off late last month to the Texas Rangers, the Astros’ division rival.