The Detroit Tigers have signed franchise legend Justin Verlander to a one-year free agent contract for the upcoming 2026 season. The membership introduced the transfer on Tuesday. The deal is for $13 million with $11 million of the overall dedication being deferred, FanSided experiences.
Verlander, who turns 43 on Feb. 20, is coming off a 2025 season for the Giants through which he pitched to a 3.85 ERA (103 ERA+) with an equivalent FIP of three.85 throughout 29 begins and 152 innings. This pact reunites Verlander with the workforce that first drafted him out of Previous Dominion with the No. 2 total decide in 2004. Verlander went on to spend the primary 12-plus seasons of his MLB profession in a Detroit uniform. Over that span, he gained 183 video games and put up a WAR of 56.6 in a Tigers uniform. In 2011, Verlander as a Tiger gained the American League Cy Younger and MVP honors. With Verlander in tow, the Tigers made it to 5 postseasons and gained the pennant throughout Verlander’s rookie season of 2006.
Verlander’s time with the Tigers got here to an finish through the 2017 season, when he was traded to the Astros. Verlander within the years to return gained two further Cy Younger awards with Houston. A future Corridor of Famer, Verlander will enter the upcoming season with a profession WAR of 82.2; 266 wins; and three,553 strikeouts.
Again with the Tigers, Verlander figures to be a part of the contending rotation that is fronted by back-to-back AL Cy Younger winner Tarik Skubal and notable free-agent addition Framber Valdez. The Tigers in 2026 shall be angling to make the postseason for a 3rd straight 12 months, and Verlander will assist stabilize a rotation that additionally contains Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize. Starter Reese Olson will miss the whole 2026 season after present process shoulder surgical procedure earlier this month, the Tigers introduced Tuesday.
Verlander returns to Detroit with 2,373 strikeouts as a Tiger, which places him 307 behind Mickey Lolich for probably the most in franchise historical past.
