Justin Verlander back with Astros as Mets unload second ace at MLB trade deadline

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It's a Houston reunion: Justin Verlander is back with the Astros just before the MLB trade deadline.

The Mets already unloaded Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers, as their 2023 season has not been going according to plan. 

The full trade, which has been made official, is Verlander and cash considerations for outfielders Drew Gilbert, the Astros’ top prospect per MLB Pipeline, and Ryan Clifford, the fourth-best prospect in the team’s minor league system. 

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Justin Verlander of the New York Mets delivers a pitch against the Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium on March 4, 2023, in Jupiter, Florida. (Jasen Vinlove/Miami Marlins/Getty Images)

Those cash considerations are the Mets reportedly paying $35.5 million toward Verlander’s contract over the next two years. Another $17.5 million will be sent if Verlander opts into his 2025 option for that season. 

Like Scherzer's situation, Verlander had to approve the move back to Houston, as he has a no-trade clause in the two-year, $86.67 million deal he signed this past offseason. Verlander gave the nod to push the deal forward to head to a familiar Houston team he just won a Cy Young and World Series with in 2022, the New York Post reported. 

The Mets added the 40-year-old Verlander this offseason by matching Scherzer’s $43.3 million annual average value that he signed on for with his three-year, $130 million deal last season to head to Queens.

METS TRADE MAX SCHERZER TO RANGERS AFTER 3-TIME CY YOUNG WINNER APPROVES DEAL: REPORTS

Now, the Mets have traded away the two most expensive players per-year in league history, as owner Steve Cohen looks ahead to building his young core for the future. Gilbert, who was the 28th overall pick of the 2022 MLB Draft, adds to the group of prospects the Mets received in their blockbuster trades. Luisangel Acuña, the younger brother of Ronald Acuña Jr., was acquired in the Scherzer deal. 

The Mets are near the bottom of the NL East this season despite owning the league’s top payroll to start the season at $344 million, which was well over the next closest, the New York Yankees, at $278 million. 

New York Mets pitcher Justin Verlander during a spring training workout on Feb. 14, 2023z, in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty Images)

New York is currently 50-55 on the year and 17.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves for the division lead, while sitting six games back of a wild-card spot in a crowded National League race. 

The Astros, on the other hand, are just a half-game back of the AL West lead, which the Rangers currently possess. Houston is in the second wild-card slot as of Tuesday.  

While Verlander hasn't been pitching to his Cy Young abilities this season, he's still enjoying a 3.15 ERA over 94.1 innings in his 19th MLB season. He returns to an Astros pitching staff that has the fifth-best ERA in baseball as a team (3.82), and with rotation arms like Jose Urquidy, Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. all on the 60-day injured list, his services are needed to keep pushing toward October baseball. 

Mets' Justin Verlander pitches against the Yankees, Tuesday, July 25, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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Verlander had massive success during his time in Houston, as he was traded to them during the 2017 season while still with the Detroit Tigers. In five seasons of work, Verlander owns a 2.26 ERA over 652 innings with 825 strikeouts with the Astros.