Newly-signed New York Mets ace Justin Verlander turns 40 years old in February but doesn’t consider himself to be in the twilight of his career.
“I will be extremely proactive in doing everything I can to play as long as I can and be as successful as I can, and healthy,” Verlander explained during his Mets introductory news conference on Tuesday, per Ryan Chichester of Audacy. “If that’s 45, great. It’s an easy number to look to, it’s a nice round number…but if I find myself at 45 pitching well and being healthy, then why would I stop?”
Such comments combined with Verlander’s longevity have caused some to compare the right-hander to Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. Brady turned 45 years old in August and could continue playing for at least another season, especially if he determines a lingering shoulder issue impacted him throughout this fall but won’t be a long-term problem.
Verlander agreed to join the Mets via a two-year deal that is reportedly worth $86.66 million and that includes a vesting third-year option worth $35 million. The veteran made 28 regular-season starts in 2022 and, according to Baseball-Reference and ESPN, led all of MLB among qualified pitchers with a 1.75 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, and 0.829 walks & hits per innings pitched. Verlander’s 18 wins were good for second overall and helped him earn the third Cy Young Award of his Hall of Fame career.
“It would be a disservice to everybody that’s given me their time and effort, including myself, to not squeeze every last ounce out of my career,” Verlander added during his Tuesday comments. “We as athletes don’t have a long runway…my goal is to extend that runway as long as possible.”
His immediate task will be to replace Jacob deGrom in the Mets’ rotation after deGrom signed a five-year deal with the Texas Rangers early this month.
