Justin Verlander’s highly-anticipated arrival in The Big Apple didn’t even make it to a full season.
Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Mets have traded the All-Star pitcher to the Houston Astros in exchange for prospects Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford.
Leading up to Tuesday’s deadline, there were reports stating that Houston was among the front-runners for Verlander. Sure enough, the front office completed a trade for the future Hall of Famer that was a key cog in their 2017 and 2022 World Series championships.
Verlander was acquired by the Astros from the Detroit Tigers in 2017, and he’d spend the next six years in their organization. With the Astros once again among the primary World Series contenders, it made perfect sense to reunite with Verlander.
The 40-year-old Verlander is 6-5 this season with a 3.15 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 94.1 innings pitched. Entering play on Tuesday, Houston was half a game behind the Texas Rangers for the AL West division lead.
