The San Francisco Giants are backed into a bit of a corner with their pitching staff this season. They opted to trade a few of their starting pitchers in the deal to acquire Rafael Devers, and the staff hasn’t fully recovered.
They’re likely going to dive into free agency and the trade market to upgrade their starting rotation, but they could work to retain Justin Verlander above all else. Verlander likely isn’t going to sign a deal another longer than two years, with the most likely outcome being a one-year contract, but the Giants are bound to have some competition.
Saturday Eric Treuden of Just Baseball recently predicted Verlander would bolt from San Francisco and sign a deal with the rival San Diego Padres.
“There seems to be a match made in heaven between Justin Verlander and the San Diego Padres this offseason,” Treuden wrote Saturday. “Verlander, who will be 43 by the time Opening Day rolls around, is coming off of a good-not-great year with the Giants, but he was incredible in the second half.
“The future Hall of Famer’s 2.99 second-half ERA was good for 11th in baseball, higher than the likes of Bryan Woo, Garrett Crochet, Tyler Glasnow, and many other notable pitchers. You’d be forgiven if you thought Verlander was getting close to the end after struggling in 2024 and coming out of the gates in 2025 still riding the struggle bus.”
The Giants should make a very aggressive effort at re-signing the veteran pitcher, but the Padres could use him, too.
San Diego has already lost Dylan Cease to the Toronto Blue Jays in free agency. Michael King is also a free agent, and it seems like he could be headed for a new team, too. As a result, the Padres could pivot to an affordable option like Verlander.
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