Justin Verlander wants to pitch in 2026.
The San Francisco Giants—Los Angeles Dodgers’ rivalry continues tonight at Dodger Stadium. The Giants, although four games behind the New York Mets in the hunt for the last Wild Card Series spot in the National League, it’s not looking favorable for the club based in Northern California’s Bay Area.
The Dodgers have already clinched a postseason position. Whether they will be divisional champions or a Wild Card participant is all that remains for the Dodgers over their last week of regular season play.
At 76–78, like many other MLB clubs, a majority of the players are hoping to impress for roster spots for when spring training comes in February. It’s more about “me” than “the team” this time of year. If you’re a highly regarded prospect, a recently acquired “player to be named later,” or a 20-season veteran as Justin Verlander, who is a three-time Cy Young Award winner with 265 MLB victories.
Club economics, plus physical abilities, and management mixes all other pluses and minuses to determine who will be wearing their uniform in 2026. Emotions are left at the club’s doorstep, more times than not.
After experiencing a horrific beginning to his first season with the Giants, finally, after 16 starts, the anticipated first-ballot Hall of Famer upon retirement registered his first win of the season on July 23 against the Atlanta Braves. Verlander, who has 26 complete games to his career’s credit, went five innings, and gave up 1 hit contributing to the 9–3 road victory. Not getting his first win until after this season’s MLB All-Star Game couldn’t have been what the Giants had imagined, when opening their 68th season on the West Coast.
In all fairness to Verlander, as of late, he is pitching more like the player that was a major reason why the Houston Astros won two World Series championships during the past nine years. Adjustments have been made in his approach to opposing batters. In Verlander’s last 11 games, the former nine-time MLB All-Star is 3–2. Over his last five games, and 31 innings tossed, Verlander has yielded three earned runs and 28 strikeouts.
Top tier MLB starting pitchers in 2025 are averaging $25 million to $40 million—plus in salary. In Verlander’s case, his last top tier contract came in 2023. The New York Mets inked Verlander to a two-year, $86.7 million deal. New York signed Verlander, now in eighth place on the MLB all-time strikeout list (3,543), for his past performances. 16 games in, the Mets shipped their expensive off-season acquisition back to the Astros.
Come spring training, Verlander will be 43. If the Giants take a chance on him in 2026, perhaps Verlander will have to lower his financial expectations, and be willing to take a “home team” discount to make the club. The Giants are in need of taking a deep dive into who they believe in for next season’s pitching rotation. On the current staff, there are only two hurlers in double-digit wins. Logan Webb (14–11) and Robbie Ray (11–8) lead the rotation, and are followed by five pitchers with more than three victories.
A positive aspect of Verlander’s play in 2025, and something Giants’ management should take into consideration on whether to re-sign him or not this winter, is that his workload is up over last season. With the Astros in 2024, Verlander logged 90.1 innings. With the Giants in 2025, Verlander’s durability at this stage of his career remains invigorated, having pitched in 141.2 innings. This is amazing considering that this past May Verlander was placed on the injured list. A pectoral nerve issue sidelined him into June.
For many athletes, knowing when to call a halt to their careers is so difficult, that being released or not having a contract offer is the only avenue in which they accept the inevitable. This past week another future Hall of Famer announced that this would be the last season for him. Dodgers’ pitching ace Clayton Kershaw, after 18 seasons, is retiring after next Sunday’s game in Seattle. Once the postseason is complete, the countdown to Cooperstown for Clayton begins. Kershaw is going out on his own terms. This season, 20 game appearances, and Kershaw has tallied an impressive 10–2 record. At 37, the Dodgers’ left-handed pitcher is now five years younger than Verlander.
Max Scherzer, another 18-year MLB pitching veteran (and former teammate of Verlander), has moved around to five clubs in as many seasons since 2021. This year with the Toronto Blue Jays, Scherzer posted a disappointing 5–4 record, and an even sadder 5.06 ERA. On Friday at Kansas City, Scherzer couldn’t get out of the first inning. The hometown Royals scored seven runs and smacked 7 hits at Scherzer’s expense. Before exiting the game after only being able to get two batters out, Scherzer appeared as only a shell of his once dominating presence on the mound. Kansas City went on to win 20–1. 2025 could be Scherzer’s “swan song” to baseball.
Verlander has much to ponder this off-season. After the pressures of the season subside, this could be the most important off-season experience of Verlander’s adult life. Pitching since 2005 with the Detroit Tigers, having given up 141 hits in 141.2 innings pitched in 27 games, it’s still difficult to get past the 3–10 record. As long as he’s healthy, some clubs could make Verlander an offer for 2025, with or without guarantees. Just how much his ego will accept the top offer made to him very well could decide if MLB fans will indeed see the last of Justin Verlander.
