Justin Verlander Makes Unpopular Free Agency Decision

After about a week of all sorts of speculation, Justin Verlander has made his decision.

The fireballer spent the entire 2021 season shelved with an injury. And while he performed a tryout for a number of different teams, he ultimately agreed to sign back with the Houston Astros for the 2022 season.

Right-hander Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros are in agreement on a one-year, $25 million deal that includes a player option for a second season, sources tell ESPN.@BenVerlander had the deal first because of course he did.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 17, 2021

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Justin Verlander was being linked to the Yankees over the past few days – as it appeared that the Astros were willing to move off of his services.

Yankees checking all of Verlander’s boxes https://t.co/0eYqU2QMPh

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) November 17, 2021

But when push came to shove, Justin Verlander returning to Houston just made too much sense.

The Astros were missing a top-of-the-line starter all season. And if Verlander was healthy last year, it’s hard to imagine that the team would have folded in the World Series.

So here we are again….we can hope all we want but the Houston Astros are not going to go away anytime soon.

It’ll be nice to see Justin Verlander toe the rubber again next season, though.

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