(Audacy) A day after the Houston Astros extended a one-year, $18.4-million qualifying offer to right-hander Justin Verlander, he held a showcase for interested teams Monday.
Verlander is an especially difficult free agent to pin because he'll turn 39 in February and Tommy John surgery essentially cost him all of 2020 and 2021. With that said, he's one of the greatest pitchers of his era and won his second American League Cy Young Award in 2019, his most recent full season.
It could be that the eight-time All-Star Verlander ultimately accepts the qualifying offer and returns to the Astros. However, if his camp gets the sense in the coming days that some team will be willing to roll the dice and guarantee him multiple seasons (or just more money in 2021), he could decline it and look for a new deal in free agency.
Of course, how Verlander looked Monday may have a direct impact on his market and whether he accepts or declines the qualifying offer before the Nov. 17 deadline. With that in mind, here's everything we know so far about his throwing session in Florida:
-- There's "a strong chance" Verlander declines the qualifying offer after a 25-pitch session that saw him reach as high as 97-mph on the radar gun, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported.
-- There were 15 to 20 teams in attendance to see Verlander's session, Sherman reported, specifically naming the New York Yankees and the New York Mets.
-- Verlander "has reached 95-96 mph in recent throwing sessions," according to Jon Morosi and Harold Reynolds of MLB Network. Morosi added that he's heard that Verlander is on the Tom Brady approach, hoping to play until he's 45 years old.
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