Justin Verlander signs with the Giants for his 20th MLB season

Justin Verlander will celebrate his 42nd birthday in a largely undisclosed location – at a Cactus League training camp for a club that relies on its veteran talent to motivate young and up-and-coming staff.

Verlander, the three-time Cy Young Award winner who has said he wants to pitch until he’s 45 and has at least 300 wins on his resume, will continue that quest with the San Francisco Giants after agreeing to a one-year deal Tuesday night .

ESPN was first to report that the Giants and Verlander have agreed to a $15 million pact.

It’s the first foray with a West Coast team for Verlander, who won his first Cy Young Award as a Detroit Tiger in 2011 and then added two more Cy Youngs as a Houston Astros in 2019 and 2022. Verlander signed a two-year, $86.6 million contract. He had signed with the New York Mets before the 2023 season and was then traded to Houston.

Now he heads west for the first time and begins this season with 262 wins and yet another lack of elite status on his team.

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That distinction belongs to Logan Webb, who made his first All-Star appearance last season with 204 2/3 innings pitched. Verlander will fill in behind him along with returning veterans Robbie Ray (also a former AL Cy Young winner) and Jordan Hicks. Verlander will aim to provide innings and gravitas to relieve a group of young pitchers that includes left-hander Kyle Harrison and right-hander Hayden Birdsong.

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But the Giants certainly know they probably won’t get a vintage Verlander.

He pitched to a 5.48 ERA last season and was placed on the injured list twice, the latter for a two-month absence due to a neck ailment. But it wasn’t until 2023 that he was able to give the Astros and New York Mets 162 1/3 innings and a 3.49 ERA. A year earlier, he won the AL Cy Young with Houston after sitting out the entire 2021 season to recover from Tommy John surgery.

The Giants won’t expect such Boffo results. But they’ll be happy to capitalize on Verlander’s larger mission: a march to 300 wins and seemingly eternal life on the mound.

(This story has been updated because an earlier version included a misidentified player.)

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Justin Verlander signs with the Giants for his 20th MLB season

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