Will Justin Verlander return to Detroit before his Hall of Fame career is over?
Could it happen as soon as next season?
Don't rule it out.
Verlander will be a free agent in the coming offseason and admitted over the weekend that he has thought about a reunion with the Tigers.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it. Yeah, of course. I loved playing there. I love the city. I love the fans. Yes, I do think about it. Ultimately, the decision comes down to what's best for my career. If that aligns with that possibility, then maybe it does," Verlander told the Free Press.
Verlander hasn't pitched since 2020 due to a forearm injury that required Tommy John last September. He's since resumed throwing but isn't expected to pitch again until 2022. He'll be 39 at the start of next season.
"I need to get my elbow healthy first and then I don't even know what the next steps are," he said. "I'm a free agent, and I have no plan. For the first time, I'm entering free agency. We'll just see what happens."
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While he's nearing the end of the line, Verlander isn't exactly slowing down. He won AL Cy Young in 2019 and finished second in 2018. He rejuvenated his career in Houston after being traded by the Tigers at the start of their rebuild in 2017. A return to Detroit would also reunite with him former Astros manager A.J. Hinch.
Most importantly, it would bring him home.
"I mean, I'm human. It's a city that means a lot to me and I grew up in front of and had a lot of accomplishments there. So yeah, of course I do (think about returning)," he said.
Verlander has acknowledged in the past that failing to win a World Series for former Tigers owner Mike Ilitch is one of his biggest regrets. He can't ever change that now, but he could still help the franchise win its first title since 1984.
If that's one of his final goals in the big leagues, Verlander isn't letting on.
"That's another one of those things that I just don't really like to talk about too much," he said. "If it happens, it happens."
But safe to say he's thought about it, just like the rest of Detroit.