Justin Verlander on the move? Trade rumor has Mets starter heading to the Bay Area

Justin Verlander only has a handful of starts under his belt with the New York Mets, but he may be on the move. According to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, Verlander is drawing interest from the San Francisco Giants should he be willing to waive his no-trade clause.

While the Giants are looking to be aggressive before the upcoming trade deadline, Verlander waiving his no-trade clause is far from a guarantee. There is a reason why Verlander has the clause in his contract in the first place as he would prefer to control any future landing spot. Additionally, the Mets would also have to punt the rest of the 2023 season and move on from potentially having Verlander in their rotation for next season. This is a likely scenario considering where they are in the standings currently. New York has no shot at the division, but a well-timed run could make them relevant in the Wild Card race.

There has been some rough spots in the 2023 season for Justin Verlander. The 40-year old right-hander has given up nine home runs in 83 innings, nearly matching his total from last season (12 in 175 innings). While Verlander has 10 starts giving up three runs or less, it is the occasional blow ups that are concerning. It must be said that those starts drawing concern appear to be behind him, but that does not mean that they will not resurface at some point down the stretch.