Source: Astros, Verlander reach $66M extension
The Houston Astros and ace Justin Verlander have agreed to a two-year, $66 million contract extension through the 2021 season, a league source with knowledge of the deal confirmed to ESPN on Saturday.
Astros owner Jim Crane on Friday had said there was mutual interest for an extension with the 36-year-old right-hander.
The news was first reported by KRIV-TV in Houston.
Verlander, who would have become a free agent after the 2019 season, went 16-9 with a 2.52 ERA last season and led the American League in strikeouts with 290. He finished second in the AL Cy Young race to the Rays’ Blake Snell.
Verlander was traded from the Detroit Tigers to Houston on Aug. 31, 2017, and helped the Astros win their first World Series that season. The 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner, he finished second in Cy Young voting last season after going 16-9 with a 2.52 ERA in 34 starts. He pitched 214 innings and led the AL with 290 strikeouts.
The seven-time All-Star, entering his 15th season, spent his entire big league career with the Tigers before the 2017 trade. In his MVP season, Verlander won a career-high 24 games and had a career-low 2.40 ERA, which led the AL. He pitched 251 innings and struck out 250 batters that season, which were both the most in the AL.
Verlander takes great pride in his durability and has pitched more than 200 innings in 11 seasons, leading the AL in three of those years.
He is 204-123 with a 3.39 ERA and 2,706 strikeouts in 419 career start . Verlander has appeared in the postseason in seven seasons, going 13-7 with a 3.19 ERA in 25 games with 24 starts.
Verlander was great for the Astros after the trade in 2017, going 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA in five starts in the regular season and winning four games in the postseason. He went 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA against the Yankees in the AL Championship Series that season and was selected MVP of that series.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.