Mets deal 3-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander back to Astros

KANSAS CITY — Justin Verlander is going back to the Houston Astros.

The Mets have traded the right-hander back to Houston hours ahead of Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET trade deadline, as well as outfielder Tommy Pham and right-handed reliever Dominic Leone minutes before the cutoff.

The Mets are getting a pair of highly-touted outfielders in return, Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford for Verlander. The Mets sent cash with Pham to the Arizona Diamondbacks in order to receive the club’s top international signing this year, 17-year-old infielder Jeremy Rodríguez. Leone went to the Los Angeles Angels for minor league infielder Jeremiah Jackson, the ninth-best prospect in the Angels’ system who was recently rated the organization’s best minor league power hitter.

The Mets also acquired right-hander Phil Bickford and left-hander Adam Kolarek for cash considerations. They haven’t been assigned to the Major League roster.

“Given the place that we were in, we were just trying to be strategic,” Mets general manager Billy Eppler said on a Zoom call. “We wanted to see what opportunities existed on some of our players and we had certain price points we were looking for. If those were met, we were going to execute it. One of the goals here is just to expedite a longer-term goal.”

The longer-term goal Eppler is referring to is adding as much impact talent as possible to a thin farm system. The Mets have shifted their priority from winning in 2023 and 2024 to developing talent and getting younger.

The 40-year-old three-time Cy Young Award-winning Verlander signed a two-year, $86.66 million deal with the Mets as a free agent during the Winter Meetings in December. The contract also carries a vested option for a third season worth $35.33 million. His signing with the Mets solidified them as bonafide contenders in the National League, but that status didn’t last long.

Verlander pitched well in 16 starts with the Mets, going 6-2 with a 3.15 ERA, but the veteran ace looked like a different version of himself than the one who won a Cy Young Award and a World Series with the Astros last season. He started the season on the injured list with a teres major strain in his right shoulder and he struggled with inconsistencies from start to start. However, he turned a corner in recent outings.

He made his final start for the Mets on Sunday against the Washington Nationals, allowing one earned run over 5 1/3 innings before coming out to an ovation from the Citi Field crowd. It was his fourth straight win and his final one in New York.

The Mets were seriously engaged with about 4-5 teams on Verlander and were explicit about their high return requests, especially with this trade. It came down to two offers Tuesday afternoon, both of which were “acceptable,” according to Eppler.

Verlander possessed no-trade protection and had the final say in any trade, but Eppler was extremely happy with the return.

According to MLB Pipeline, Gilbert, 22, is the Astros’ top-rated prospect in the organization. A Minnesota native, he went to the College World Series with Tennessee in 2021 and was drafted in the first round (28th overall) in 2022. He’s currently playing in Double-A and the Mets will keep him there, assigning him to Binghamton.

“We ultimately were able to get a pretty well-known name in Drew Gilbert,” Eppler said. “A high draft pick and a notable player from Tennessee. Left-handed bat, plays a premium position. Runs, fields throws, understands the strike zone. He’s a relentless player. I think people are going to really enjoy watching this guy play. He plays a little bit with his hair on fire.”

Clifford, 19, was drafted in the 11th round in 2022 out of Crossroads FLEX High School in Cary, North Carolina and is currently in High-A.

“Plays a corner outfield and has an above-average arm,” Eppler said. “He hits the ball incredibly hard. He’s outperforming High-A by a pretty good margin. We’re going to send him to Brooklyn and kind of get our hands around him. But to add that kind of impact talent, that met the price point.”

Since Thursday, the Mets have traded closer David Robertson, right-hander Max Scherzer, outfielder Mark Canha and now Verlander. The club traded Eduardo Escobar to the Los Angeles Angels in June. In return, the Mets have received Gilbert, Clifford, Rodriguez, Jackson, Bickford, Kolarek, infielder/outfielder Luisangel Acuña, shortstop Marco Vargas, catcher Ronald Hernandez, and right-handers Justin Jarvis, Coleman Crow and Landon Marceaux.

Verlander spent more than four seasons with the Astros after being traded from the Detroit Tigers during the 2017 season. He went on to help the team win World Series titles in 2017 and 2022 and will now be added to the rotation to help them try to defend that title.

However, Eppler knows how this looks for next season — not good. The Mets are going to have to go back to free agency to replace two starting pitchers or risk a rotation that consists of Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana and unproven starters like David Peterson and Tylor Megill.

“That’s going to chip away at the 2024 odds,” Eppler said. “We’re going to have to address that in the winter time and see how much of that can be recovered.”